Oral health status and factors related to dental caries among rural Nepali children

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the oral health status of Nepali children and to investigate the factors correlated with dental caries. The epidemiological study conducted from December 2014 to February 2015 with total 796 students (grades 2, 3 and 4) from 23 different government schools in seven different districts in Nepal. The oral examination was based on WHO guidelines and was performed by a single, well-trained dentist from Nepal. Demographic variables, oral health behaviors and information regarding the number of shops (including sugary snacks) around each school and the distance from Dhulikhel city and Kathmandu(where many facilities are available) to each school were collected. The data were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to assess the factors associated with dental caries. Of the participants, 53.6 % and 14.1 % had decayed, missing filled teeth in primary and permanent dentition, respectively. The mean primary decayed teeth (dt) was found to be 1.70, and the permanent decayed teeth (DT) was 0.21

mean dmft was 1.74 in primary dentition and 0.21 in permanent dentition. The number of markets near a school and the distance to the Dhulikhel city were significantly associated with permanent DMFT (odds ratio [OR]: 1.77

95% Confidence interval [CI]:1.13-2.78) and primary dmft (OR: 1.60

95% CI: 1.16-2.22) respectively, after adjusting for the related covariates. Conclusions: Most of the dental caries remained untreated. Dental caries seems to be significantly high with students who attended schools closer from the city and students with more sugary snacks shops near their school.