IADR Abstract Archives
Dental Caries in School Girls of Poverty in Nanyuki, Kenya
Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine the prevalence of dental caries and treatment needs in girls of poverty in Nanyuki, Kenya.
Methods: Eighty-seven girls from a private boarding school in Kenya were enrolled in the study. They girls ranged in age from 13 to 18 years, with a mean age of 16.1 ± 1.2 years. A clinical examination was performed on each girl consisting of decayed (D), missing (M) and filled (F) teeth and a DMFT score was calculated. Dental caries were measured using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS).
Results: The prevalence of decayed, missing and filled teeth in the girls was of 96.5%, 23.0% and 1.2% respectively. The girls had a mean of 5.90 ± 3.54 decayed teeth. Both missing and filled teeth means were very small, with values of 0.2 ± 0.6 and 0.1 ± 0.1, respectively. The mean DMFT for the girls was 6.2 ± 3.8. Thus, the prevalence of decayed teeth was the major contributor to the DMFT scores.
Conclusions: The results of the study show that dental caries was highly prevalent, affecting 96.5% of the girls. As resources, both human and financial, are extremely limited, a focus on oral health promotion including prevention and education, is very much needed to improve oral health in this population.
Methods: Eighty-seven girls from a private boarding school in Kenya were enrolled in the study. They girls ranged in age from 13 to 18 years, with a mean age of 16.1 ± 1.2 years. A clinical examination was performed on each girl consisting of decayed (D), missing (M) and filled (F) teeth and a DMFT score was calculated. Dental caries were measured using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS).
Results: The prevalence of decayed, missing and filled teeth in the girls was of 96.5%, 23.0% and 1.2% respectively. The girls had a mean of 5.90 ± 3.54 decayed teeth. Both missing and filled teeth means were very small, with values of 0.2 ± 0.6 and 0.1 ± 0.1, respectively. The mean DMFT for the girls was 6.2 ± 3.8. Thus, the prevalence of decayed teeth was the major contributor to the DMFT scores.
Conclusions: The results of the study show that dental caries was highly prevalent, affecting 96.5% of the girls. As resources, both human and financial, are extremely limited, a focus on oral health promotion including prevention and education, is very much needed to improve oral health in this population.