Oral health of children in rural areas of Myanmar

Abstract

AIMS: The aims of this pilot survey were to describe caries and periodontal status, toothbrushing practice, diet and snacks behavior of the 5- and 12-year-old children in rural areas of north-eastern part of Myanmar. METHODS: A field examination was conducted during an oral health promotion campaign in four villages near Keng Tong, Eastern Shan State of Myanmar in December 2009. Children with parental consent were invited for oral health education, which was followed by an oral examination by an experienced examiner. Children aged 5 and 12 were selected for reporting of caries status of primary and permanent teeth respectively using dmft and DMFT indices. Periodontal conditions of the 5-year-old children were assessed using Gingival Index (GI); and the 12-year-old children using Community Periodontal Index. Parental questionnaire survey was performed to study the children's tooth-brushing habits and their diet and snacks taken the day before the survey. RESULTS: There were 103 5-year-old children and 29 (28%) suffered from caries. The caries experience in dmft was 0.97±2.24. All caries found were left untreated. Ninety-seven children (97%) had no snacking habit. The average GI score was 1.0±0.9. Most children (89%) had no toothbrushing. Eighty 12-year-old children were examined and 12 (15%) had caries. Their mean DT and DMFT was 0.24±0.68. Seventy-six children (95%) had no snacking habit. There were 35 (44%) 12-year-old children practiced daily toothbrushing; but only 10 (13%) had healthy gum. Thirty-two children (40%) had calculus. All children surveyed took rice, vegetables and 53% of them also took meat as their meals. CONCLUSIONS: In this survey, the caries experience of both 5- and 12-year-old children was low. They took rice and vegetables as their meals. More than 90% of them had no snacking habits. Most 5-year-old children and more than half of the 12-year-old children did not practiced toothbrushing daily.