Prevalence of Dental Caries and Predisposing Factors in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Prevalence of Dental Caries and Predisposing Factors in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Port Harcourt Background: Dental caries is a common oral health disease of global interest. The burden of the disease and predisposing factors must be determined before a preventive programme could be designed, but relevant data from community-based studies are not common in Rivers State. Aims and Objectives: This study was designed to determine the prevalence and predisposing factors to caries development in the Local Government Area (LGA). Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among adult residents in Obio-Akpor LGA of Rivers State. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect personal data and caries predisposing factors while oral examination was carried out to determine caries severity and oral hygiene status using DMFT and OHI-S indexes respectively. The sample size (240) was determined using the formula for descriptive studies. Results: The mean (SD) age was 32(±1.113) years. Most of the participants were married, Ikwerres, skilled workers, earn <100dollar and most had secondary education. Most seldom/never use tobacco products. Most ate fresh fruits every day or several times a week and most also ate cariogenic diet every day or several times a day. Most use fluoride toothpaste once a day and most do not use floss. Most have never seen a dentist. The prevalence of untreated caries was 64.2%. DMFT score=0.91 (very low). The OHI-S = 3.3. (>3 indicates poor OHI). Conclusions: The DMFT index was low while OHI-S was high. Poor oral hygiene status, oral healthcare utilization and cariogenic diets predisposed the participants to caries. Key words: Caries, prevalence, predisposing factors, prevention

Keywords

• Caries
• Prevalence
• Predisposing factors
• Prevention