Associations of nutritional status, sugar and second-hand smoke exposure with dental caries among 3- to 6-year old Malaysian pre-schoolers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Dental caries in primary teeth is a serious oral health concern among children. It can lead to detrimental impacts on a child's growth, development, and quality of life. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine the prevalence of dental caries and its associations with nutritional status, sugar and secondhand smoke exposure among pre-schoolers. Methods: A total of 26 pre-schools in Seremban, Malaysia were randomly selected using the probability proportional to size sampling. Dental examination was performed by a dentist to record the number of decayed teeth (dt). Weight and height of the pre-schoolers were measured. The mother-administered questionnaire was used to gather information pertaining to the sociodemographic characteristics and secondhand smoke exposure. Total sugar exposure was calculated from a 3-day food record. Results: Among the 396 participating pre-schoolers, 63.4% of them had at least one untreated caries, with a mean ± SD dt score of 3.56 ± 4.57. Negative binomial regression analysis revealed that being a boy (adjusted mean ratio = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.005-0.698, p = 0.047), exposed to secondhand smoke (adjusted mean ratio = 1.67, 95% CI = 0.168-0.857, p = 0.004) and those who had more than 6 times of daily total sugar exposure (adjusted mean ratio = 1.93, 95% CI = 0.138-0.857, p = 0.013) were significantly associated with dental caries among pre-schoolers. Conclusion: A high prevalence of dental caries was reported in this study. This study highlights the need to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and practice healthy eating behaviours in reducing the risk of dental caries among pre-schoolers.

Household smoking impact on the oral health of 5- to 7-years-old children

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“…The administered questionnaire tool was created based on formerly validated questionnaire [ 16 , 17 ]. The questionnaire consisted of 26 closed questions regarding their sociodemographic characteristics and parental smoking habits.…”

The effect of secondhand smoke exposure on dental caries and gingival health among schoolchildren in Damascus, Syria: a cross-sectional study

“…An online Arabic questionnaire was designed using Google Forms. It was created based on previously validated questionnaires [ 15 – 17 ]. In addition, Cronbach’s alpha reliability test was used to measure internal consistency, which adds to the questionnaire’s validity.…”

Dental Caries: Epidemiological & Public Health Approach among Children of District Nowshera Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

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