Oral Health Promotion among an Ethiopian Community: a Pilot Study

Objectives: To promote the oral health of children aged 5 to 14 yrs and their families from an underprivileged Ethiopian urban community. Methods: A multidisciplinary team including a dentists and a staff of Ethiopian born Israeli professionals comprised of a dental hygienist, a social worker, a nutritionist, and a community representative, was established. In addition to socioeconomic and demographic data, parents were asked about their psychosocial profile which included social support and psychological distress. Children were asked about their diet habits, oral hygiene and family support. Dental examination of the children included the plaque index, gingival index, toothbrushing skills index (BSI), traumatic dental injuries index, DMFT and deft. Results: Data were gathered among 254 subjects comprised of 80 parents (80 families) and 174 children. Among parents, social support (range: 0-3) was found to be low (average of 2.2), and psychological distress was demonstrated among 48%. Among children, social support was found to be higher than their parents (average of 1.6), 92% reported brushing their teeth once a day or more. Seventy percent of children demonstrated bleeding on probing. Mean brushing skills index was found to be 0.38. Eighty three percent (83%) of the children (144 out of 174) demonstrated past or present caries experience, 17% were caries free. In a multiple stepwise regression analysis, risk for dental caries among children was associated with male gender, low BSI, and having parent with psychological distress. Conclusions: The alarming high level of dental caries among children, associated with family psychosocial variables demonstrates the need for a holistic approach for the promotion of oral health. Community empowerment meetings will be presented and an oral health promotion program will be implemented in concert with the multidisciplinary team as suggested.