The prevalence of dental caries among 12 to 15-year-old school children in Nigeria: report of a local survey and campaign.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the prevalence of dental caries among school children in Egor local government area (district) and establish baseline data.


METHODS
Cross-sectional survey of urban and rural, private and public school children in Egor district, Edo State, Nigeria.


METHODS
A total of 358 randomly selected school children aged 12 to 15 years from urban and rural, private and public schools in Egor District were examined for dental caries according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. A questionnaire was administered to elicit information from the participants on tooth cleaning, dietary habits and dental experience. An oral health campaign was conducted in the selected schools as an incentive. Data were analyzed using SPSS 7.5.


RESULTS
Sixty-seven percent (n = 238) of the school children were caries-free. Mean DMFT score was 0.65 (sd = 1.14). Decayed teeth accounted for the largest component (98.6%). No fillings were recorded. Prevalence (mean DMFT) was higher in females (0.70) than males (0.59); urban (0.72) more than rural (0.53); private schools (0.75) more than public schools (0.55). DMFT scores at age 12, 13, 14 and 15 were 0.51, 0.63, 0.78 and 0.66 respectively; 81.4% of the school children had never visited a dental clinic, 95.8% claimed to use a toothbrush and 87.5% regularly consumed snacks.


CONCLUSIONS
The prevalence of caries in Egor District is very low. Untreated caries indicates that preventive and restorative treatment needs are high. Dental and dietary habits are likely to increase this prevalence; hence the need for continuous monitoring, preventive and restorative programmes.
Okeigbemen
Sunny Ajimen
SA
Department of Preventive Dentistry, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City, Nigeria. svokeigbemen@uniben.net
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D018672:Community Health Planning; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012571:School Dentistry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data