7. Dental Caries Determinants in High School Students of Public Sector in District Sialkot
Rehana Kausar1, Nadia Munir1, Naveed Inayat2 and Khalid Ismail3
ABSTRACT
Objective: To find out the determinants of dental caries in the high school children at public sector in district Sialkot.
Study Design: Cross sectional study
Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the Department of Dental Materials, Islam Dental College Sialkot. from June 2017 to December 2017.
Materials and Methods: In this study 382 high school children of 9 public sector girls (4) and boys (5) high schools in district Sialkot were included. Simple random sampling technique was applied. Study tool was a questionnaire. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 24.0.
Results: Almost 62.83% of children had dental problems in the past and about 52.9% missed school due to dental pain. Almost 87.4% of the children ate sweets several times a week. About 37.2% had never visited a dentist.A strong association (p≤0.05%) was found between dental caries and high intake of sweets, chocolates, juices, fizzy drinks etc. and poor oral hygiene practice.
Conclusion: Students consuming moderate carbohydrates and sugars, were less susceptible to dental caries. The maintained oral hygiene was one of the possible reasons. We can say that moderate sugar intake with regular brushing, at least twice daily with fluoridated toothpaste is essential to minimize the chances of dental cavities.
Key Words: Prevalence, Dental Caries, Tooth Decay, District Sialkot
Citation of articles: Kausar R, Munir N, Inayat N, Ismail K. Dental Caries Determinants in High School students of Public Sector in District Sialkot. Med Forum 2018;29(9):27-31.