Oral hygiene practices, dental knowledge, dietary habits and their relation to caries among male primary school children in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the frequency of consumption of cariogenic foods, oral hygiene practices and dental health knowledge among Saudi male primary school children in relation to socio-demographics and to find the possible predictors for dental caries among them.


METHODS
The cross-sectional descriptive study included 1115 Saudi male selected by multistage random sample from 18 public primary schools. Subjects were interviewed by closed ended questionnaire gathering data regarding frequency consumption of some cariogenic foods, oral hygiene practices and dental health knowledge. Students were submitted to dental screening to detect the clinically evident caries lesion.


RESULTS
The clinically decayed tooth was diagnosed in 68.9% of the included children, more in urban and younger students. Caries affected the subjects consumed cariogenic foods at greater frequency compared with caries-free children. Only 24.5% of the students brushed their teeth twice or more per day, and 29% of them never received instructions regarding oral hygiene practices. Miswak as an alternative and/or additional method of dental cleaning was used by 44.6%. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed that maternal working conditions, large family size and poor oral hygiene practices were the chief predictors for dental caries among the included school children.


CONCLUSIONS
The poor oral hygiene practices, lack of parental guidance and appropriate dental health knowledge with frequent exposure to cariogenic foods in addition to socio-demographics are the main risk factors for dental decay among the surveyed students.
Amin
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TT
Family and Community Medicine Department, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. amin55@myway.com
Al-Abad
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BM
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001628:Beverages / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002099:Cacao; D002182:Candy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002253:Carbonated Beverages / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002638:Chewing Gum / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D029592:Oleaceae; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000295:instrumentation; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000295:instrumentation; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D002638:Chewing Gum; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D019422:Dietary Sucrose