Analysis of salivary level Lactobacillus spp. and associated factors as determinants of dental caries amongst primary school children in Harar town, eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Lactobacillus spp. play a major role in the development of dental caries. Although effective methods are known for the prevention and management of dental caries, its prevalence of dental caries is increasing amongst school-age children in Ethiopia. Hence, this study is aimed to determine the association of salivary Lactobacillus spp. level and oral health factors as determinants of dental caries amongst primary school children in Harar town, Eastern Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst primary school children (n = 407) using a questionnaire survey, clinical DMFT (decayed, missing, filled tooth number) examination and enumeration of salivary level Lactobacillus spp. Data were analyzed by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science software-version 25.0). The odds ratio was used to determine the predictors of the outcome. The data were expressed as mean ± SD. Statistical significance was defined as a p-value of less than 0.05. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was found to be 36.9% amongst primary school children. The mean DMFT value of the participants was 0.95 ± 1.57. The dental decay component was the primary observation that accounted for 84.6% of the DMFT. Almost, 67% of the saliva culture revealed a significant amount of Lactobacillus spp. count. The mean bacterial count was found to be 14.92 × 10 5 ± 22.92 × 10 5. Among various parameters analysed for association with dental caries, a number of them show positive associtation, incluing reduction in academic scores in the prevous academic year (p = 0.034), grade levels of school children 1-4 (p = 0.041), sweet food consumption habit (p = 0.003), absence of daily teeth cleaning habit (p = 0.002), absence of toothpaste use (p = 0.001), dental ache history (p = < 0.001), significant microbial load of salivary Lactobacillus spp. (p = < 0.001), acidic (p = 0.028) and basic salivary pH (p = 0.025). Conclusion: A significant salivary Lactobacillus count associated with lower grade level, sweet diet, and poor oral hygiene were found to be the determinant factors for dental caries. Thus, dissemination of oral health information is obligatory to prevent dental caries amongst primary school children in the study area.

Dental caries and associated factors in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…These thirteen studies had a cumulative of 6950 study subjects which were considered in this meta-analysis to determine the overall prevalence of dental caries. Of those, two [20,25] were conducted in Addis Ababa, six [16-19, 21, 23] in Amhara region, two [14,24] in Tigray region, one [15] in Oromia region, one [13] in Southern Nations and Nationalities of Ethiopia (SNNPR) region, and one [22] in Harar town. Cross-sectional study design was employed in every study, and studies were conducted among different age groups (their age range 6-100 years) (Table 1).…”

“…Four studies have been evaluated to check the presence of association between sweet food consumption and caries [19][20][21][22]. Dental caries prevalence was considerably high among study subjects who consumed sweet food (OR= 2.4 (95% CI (1.91, 3.01))).…”

“…7). The pooled regression analysis of five articles [16,18,20,22,25] showed no association between habit of tooth cleaning and dental caries (OR =0.71(95 %( CI (0.17, 2.96))). Nonuniformity tests disclosed that there was high nonuniformity in studies that evaluate habit of tooth cleaning (I 2 = 97.5%, P = 0.000).…”

“…Many studies revealed that the magnitude of dental caries vary in different countries like Northwest of Spain (36.9%), Nigeria (13.9%), Kenya (50.3%), and Eritrea (78%) respectively [9][10][11][12]. Studies that have been conducted in Ethiopia revealed that dental caries accounts for about 21.1-78.2% [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Although scholars recommended modification of free sugar consumption, cleaning teeth more than two times a day using a fluoride toothpaste (promotion of good oral hygiene), and oral health education, the problem remains high, particularly in developing countries [26,27].…”

Prevalence of dental caries in the first permanent molar and associated risk factors among sixth-grade students in São Tomé Island

“…Dental caries is a chronic bacterial infectious disease destructing the tooth’s hard tissues by acids produced by a complex interaction, whose main factors are host susceptibility, bacteria, diet, and duration. The destruction of the tooth is a dynamic process determined by the balance between demineralization and remineralization occurring in the interface between hard tooth tissue and the surrounding environment [ 7 – 9 ]. Dental caries is preventable and reversible, which can be arrested at any stage, provided that protective measurements are implemented, such as fluoride application, dental care, pit and fissure sealant, and adequate health service utilization [ 10 ].…”