Assessment of early childhood caries [ECC] and its relationship with feeding practices - a study

Early childhood caries remains a problem in both developed and developing countries and has been considered to be in an epidemic proportion in developing countries. The aim of this study was to asses the prevalence of Early Childhood Caries and its relationship with feeding practices. It was carried out at Khyber College of Dentistry Hospital. It was spread over a period of three months. This was cross sectional analytical study children of 2-6 years old formed the study group. Sample size was 194 children and sampling technique was convenience purposive. Children were examined on dental unit by the principal author and caries were detected using dft index. A parent or care giver, after taking the informed consent, was asked to complete a self-designed questionnaire regarding information about the child's pattern of feeding, mother education level, socio economics status age of starting brushing, having snack between meals and dft status. The study showed prevalence of ECC was 55.2%. In this study breast, fed children were 84% and bottle-fed were 16%. Pecentage of ECC in breast-fed children was 51.6%, which was less than the percentage of ECC in bottle-fed children, which was 72.25%. Those children who took bottle at nighttime had more carries [72.5%] as compared to those who did not [50%]. Caries in children was 89% who took milk with sugar at night as compared to those who did not. Incident of carries was more in the children of illiterate mothers [56%] than those of educated mothers [10%]. This study documented high prevalence of ECC among 2-6 year olds children. Prevalence of ECC was more in bottle fed children specially in those children who were given milk with sugar in bottle at night. Results reveal an urgent need of increased awareness among the public about ECC and their attitude towards the importance of primary teeth. This is high time to institute preventive strategies to control ECC

Awareness and practices of oral health among patients seen at khyber college of dentistry hospital

The aim of this study was to assess the awareness and practices of oral hygiene maintenance among both genders of the groups who were seen in the hospital ofKhyber College of Dentistry. Three hundred and fifty subjects were randomly selected and interviewed on a semi-structured questionnaire for age, gender, education, frequency of tooth brushing, use of dentifrices and dental floss. SPSS version 17.0 was used to analyze the data. Out of the total 350 subjects, 160 [45.7%] were male and 190 [54.3%] were female, with mean age of43.9 +/- 17.2 The age range was 12-80 years. 45.14% brushed their teeth twice, 35.71% reported once and 8.57% thrice daily. Awareness about the use of dental floss was 18%, while 82% did not use. Regarding the use of dentifrices, 90% were using tooth paste followed by 7.4% tooth powder. Male dominated females in frequent dental check up. In conclusion females were more aware and in practice of maintenance of oral hygiene compared to males

Dental ailments among low and high socioeconomic status school children aged 11-12 years

A cross sectional study was undertaken to compare the dental ailments in school children's among low and high socioeconomic status. The data was randomly collected from children, of two schools one in Private sector [High socioeconomic status, Group A] and one in Public sector [Low socioeconomic status, Group B] from Sep 2011 to Oct 2011. School going children boys and girls were selected, and the final sample size was 216, one hundred and eight from each group with ages 11-12 years and with mean of 11.57 and SD of +/- .659, the levels of DMFT were identified by clinical examination only, using WHO standardize forms for data collection. There was high percentage [62.06%] of DMFT with SD +/- 1.84 and with mean 1.44 in the low SES group compared to the [50%] of DMFT with high SES group. The oral hygiene status was good in high SES compared to low SES

Prevalence of cusp of carabelli in permanent teeth in a group from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of cusp of carabelli in permanent teeth in a sample from the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A special proforma was developed to collect the data. A total of 400 subjects [patients attending Khyber College of Dentistry hospital and students of Khyber College of Dentistry] were included in the study. Cusp of Carabelli was present in 29.7% of the study population in maxillary first permanent molar and was totally absent in maxillary second permanent molars. Prevalence in males [31.9%] was slightly greater than females [25.9%]. Similarly unilateralism was also greater in males than females. It was concluded that the prevalence of cusp of Carabelli is lowest in the population sample of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as compared to other similar Asian population's samples. However, unilateralism was at par with other Asian studies. In permanent teeth the Cusp of Carabelli occurs only on maxillary first molar

Prevalence of dental caries among 3-12-years-old children of Swat - Pakistan

The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of dental caries among 3-12 years old children in Swat, Pakistan. A total of 646 children were examined. The sample consisted of 231, 358, and 57 children in the 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 years of age group, respectively. Dental caries and gingival index were examined and recorded accordingly. Dental caries was diagnosed according to criteria recommended by World Health Organization. The relationship of the DMFT index to the following factors was investigated: age, sex, and personal hygiene. The sample consisted of 513 males and 133 females who ranged in age from three to twelve years. Their mean age was 6.25 years. For the entire sample, the mean DMFT index was 4.02. The prevalence of dental caries was highest in 6-8 year of age group compared to 3-5 years and 9-12 years age groups. The increase in prevalence of dental caries needs dental health programs to be arranged in the specified population