title: Oral health status and behaviours of children in Myanmar - a pilot study in four villages in rural areas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the tooth status, periodontal status, oral hygiene and snacking habits of children in four villages in northeastern Myanmar.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional study using a convenient sampling protocol. All children ages 5 and 12 years from four villages were examined by an experienced epidemiologist, and the status of their primary and permanent dentition, respectively, was reported using the diagnostic criteria recommended by the World Health Organisation. A parental questionnaire survey was performed to study the children's habits.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 95 5-year-old and 80 12-year-old children were examined. It was found that 94% and 39% of the 5- and 12-year-old children, respectively, had never brushed their teeth. Few children had snacking habits. Most of the children - 75% of the 5-year-olds and 85% of the 12-year-olds - had no caries experience. The mean dmft score of the 5-year-olds was 0.9, while the mean DMFT score of the 12-year-olds was 0.2. Signs of moderate to severe gingivitis were found in 42% of the 5-year-olds, and 40% of the 12-year-olds had dental calculus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence and severity of dental caries among the children in the four villages in northeastern Myanmar was low. Their oral hygiene habits and periodontal conditions were not satisfactory and need to be improved.
authors.affiliation: The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. chchu@hku.hk
authors.forename: Chun Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Alex M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Chau
authors.forename: Zoe S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Bosco S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.forename: Edward C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Lo
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000453:epidemiology; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002052:Myanmar / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D062410:Snacks; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires