Oral Health in Kuwait before the Gulf War

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this oral health survey was to determine the oral health status and oral health behavior in the whole population in Kuwait. This survey was part of the Kuwait Health Survey, which was conducted by the Ministry of Public Health. The original data were destroyed during the Gulf War (1990/1991), but the aim of this report is to publish the main findings concerning oral health and related factors. Methodology: The data were collected between April 1984 and April 1985. The sample consisted of 3,358 households and 26,530 individuals. The survey consisted of interviews and clinical examinations (>12-year-olds). WHO (1977) criteria were used for examinations. Results: Females were more often brushing their teeth at least once a day than males and non-Kuwaitis slightly more often than Kuwaitis. Over one third (39%) had visited a dentist during the previous 12 months. The proportion of subjects with soft deposit was 66%, calculus 45%, intensive gingivitis 46% and advanced periodontitis 18%. The caries experience was prevalent (52%) in primary dentition (<8-year-olds) and in permanent dentition, highest (95%) among the 60- to 64-year-olds. Conclusion: Preventive programs for periodontal diseases and for dental caries are urgently needed. The coverage of curative care of both diseases also needs to be improved. Health behavior improvement should be targeted by oral health promotion activities.

Dental Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour among Students at the Kuwait University Health Sciences Centre

“…This finding is similar to that reported in a national survey conducted in 1985, in which Kuwaitis aged 15-29 years had visited a dentist during the previous 12 months most often for toothaches [16]. In a study among university students in Italy, almost 60% had visited a dentist during the previous 12 months for a check-up [21], a much larger number than in this study (43.7%), probably because HSC students visited dentists only when they had a real need to.…”

“…Females at the HSC followed the recommended toothbrushing frequency more often than males, which is consistent with results from studies conducted in other countries [3,[32][33][34][35]. The proportion of individuals who brushed at least once a day in this study (94.7%) was much higher than in the nationally representative survey conducted in 1985 (76.1%) [16], perhaps because students at the HSC are more healthoriented than the general population, as would be expected. The students who brushed more than once a day reported better dental health than those who brushed less often.…”

“…For instance, the desire to restrict sugar is more strongly related to body image and perceived overweight than to dental caries risk [13]. In Kuwait, few studies [14][15][16] have been conducted on oral health behaviour, and hence little information on this topic is available.…”

Biopsied Oral Soft Tissue Lesions in Kuwait: A Six-Year Retrospective Analysis

“…Most of these lesions represent an exuberant response to local irritation and trauma [16]. Local irritants such as calculus have been reported to be highly prevalent among the Kuwaiti population due to inadequate oral hygiene practices and irregular dental visits [17,18,19]. Fibrous hyperplasia was the most frequently encountered lesion in our study, and was the most commonly biopsied lesion from the gingiva/alveolar mucosa, buccal mucosa and tongue; these findings are similar to that of previous studies [1,6,20].…”

Self-Reported Oral Hygiene Habits and Oral Health Problems of Kuwaiti Adults

“…Limited information is available on the oral hygiene habits of adult Kuwaitis, and the available data are either from before the Gulf war [20] or related to specific populations such as students at the health sciences center [21] , or the college of health sciences [22] . Moreover, limited information is available on the dental treatment needs of adult Kuwaitis, since data from the only national health survey performed in 1985 were lost during the Gulf war [20] .…”