Prevalence and Risk Factors of Caries among Children of Moroccan Schools

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to describe the oral health status of schoolchildren, while focusing on the relationship between carious prevalence and the two risk factors which are obesity and passive smoking.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in primary school of Casablanca, Morocco. A total of 1003 schoolchildren aged between 6 to 12 years old were examined in their classrooms in daylight. The questionnaire was used to collect information about socio-demographic status, oral health practice consumption of sweets and passive smoking. Dental caries was assessed using the decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft, DMFT) index, and oral hygiene status by the simplified oral hygiene index OHI. The obesity was defined based to the measurement of BMI index. Results: The caries prevalence was 57.7% in temporary dentition and 43% in permanent dentition. The caries index was dmft= 2.44 and DMFT= 1.3. Higher Caries prevalence was associated with poor oral hygiene, increased consumption of sweets; however, caries prevalence in temporary and permanent dentition was lower in children with obesity (5,5% and 4,9% respectively), and exposed to passive smoking (25,4%,31,8% respectively). Conclusion: The oral status of Moroccan school children is defective, there is a need to further promote prevention and awareness in primary schools.