Dental Caries and Oral Hygiene Status Among Students at Vo Truong Toan Elementary School, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City in 2021

Abstract

Background: Dental caries is a multifactorial and dynamic disease caused by damage to dental hard tissues. It is known as the most common disease of oral health conditions in school-aged children. Caries can affect children’s quality of life, such as studying, recreational activities, and psychosocial well-being. In recent years, some studies done in other provinces of Vietnam reported that the rate of dental caries in primary and permanent dentition was still high. Objectives: To determine the prevalence, indices of dental caries, and oral hygiene status among students from Grade 1 to Grade 5 at Vo Truong Toan elementary school, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City in 2021. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on students from Grade 1 to Grade 5 at Vo Truong Toan elementary school, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City in the 2020 – 2021 academic year. Results: A total of 288 students (6 – 11 years of age) participated in this study with the prevalence of caries in all teeth, deciduous dentition, and permanent dentition were 94.8%, 89.9%, and 44.4%, respectively. The overall mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth index was 6.83 ± 3.96, the overall mean decayed, missing, and filled surfaces index was 11.78 ± 10.08, the overall mean significant caries index was 11.35 ± 2.14, and the overall mean untreated caries index was 0.40 ± 1.06. 78.8% of students had good and fair oral hygiene without statistically significant association with gender or age groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: This study has shown the high prevalence of caries, so the community should carry out preventive solutions to improve correct perceptions and actions.