Food Behavior, Oral Hygiene and Dental Problems among the Children (6-11 Years) at Dhaka City in Bangladesh

Abstract

A descriptive type of cross sectional study was carried out to assess the prevalence of dental
diseases and to find out the relationship between dental diseases and the regular food intake
pattern of children aged 6-11 years in Dhaka city. Oral examination was done to identify
dental diseases for a sample of 123 children. A structured questionnaire was used for
collecting relevant information. Result shows that the most prevalent dental disease among
this age group was dental caries (52.8%) which was found to be decreased with the increase
of age (P value= 0.005). Any type of dental disease was significantly related to consumption
of excessive carbohydrate intake in daily meal (P value= 0.03). Those, who consume more
than 300g of carbohydrate and sticky food, became more susceptible to dental disease and it
was found to be 78.9%. The prevalence rate of dental disease was found to be high (95.1%) in
higher economic group whose family income (monthly) is more than 18000tk. Bottle feeding,
the major cause of teeth decay among children, were found to be significantly related with
dental diseases (P value= 0.01). Only 13.8% used paste or powder containing Ca and/or F had
less diseases percentage (P value= 0.002). Following the correct manner of tooth brushing
(right way), brushing frequency (two or more) and gargling (regularly) reduced the
probability of dental problems. The study also revealed that children had less dental problems
(33.3%) whose parents had little preventive knowledge of dental diseases.