Factors associated with oral health status and normative treatment needs among primary school children in Kinondoni Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

Aim
The aim was to determine oral health status, factors affecting caries, experiences, and dental treatment needs among primary school children in Kinondoni District, Dar Es Salaam Region.

Materials and Methods
A cross sectional survey was done in 2005 to involve 784 (females 56.2%) children aged 7 to 19 years, with average age of boys slightly higher than that of girls. The examinations were carried out according to WHO criteria (World Health Organisation, 1997) under artificial light using dental mirrors and the WHO CPI periodontal probe. Before the clinical examinations took place the children participated in an interview whereby information was gathered about oral health related knowledge, experience with toothache, extractions, restoration and tooth brushing practices. A structured questionnaire was used which was field tested to a group of 50 primary school children prior to the survey.

Results
Dental caries experience was 1.35 dft and 0.33 DMF-T, for 12 year olds (the WHO indicator age group) DMFT was 0.4. The proportion of caries free among 12 year olds was 77.6. The determinants of caries experience were age and sex, while oral health related knowledge, caries in deciduous dentition, geographical location that was taken to be a proxy indicator of social economic status, were not associated with caries experience in permanent dentition. Much of the dental caries went untreated and every 8th child needed one surface filling on at least one tooth. Few children required extractions and two surface fillings. One third of the children had calculus requiring oral hygiene instructions and scaling and on average one sextant had calculus per child. One third of the children experienced bleeding upon brushing, and 54.8% had experienced toothache. All children brushed their teeth at least once a day. Knowledge on gingival health did not account for variations in calculus accumulation.

Conclusion
Caries experience; predicted by age and sex, was very low but much of the disease went untreated, toothache was a common encounter, with every eighth child requiring one surface filling on at least one tooth. Every third child had calculus requiring oral hygiene instructions although all children reported to brush their teeth at least once a day. The findings are discussed in line with their usability in planning oral health services in the District.

Tanzania Dental Journal Vol. 13(2) November 2006: 35-42