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Prevalence and pattern of early childhood caries in Ibadan, Nigeria

O I Iyun, O O Denloye, O O Bankole

    African Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences
    |July 31, 2015
    PubMed

    Insights

    Early childhood caries affects 23.5% of Nigerian nursery school children, with untreated decay prevalent. This highlights poor dental awareness and the urgent need for public health interventions.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric Dentistry
    • Public Health
    • Epidemiology

    Background:

    • Early childhood caries (ECC) poses a significant public health challenge in resource-limited developing countries like Nigeria.
    • Limited resources exacerbate the difficulty in combating the widespread issue of ECC.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To determine the prevalence and patterns of early childhood caries (ECC).
    • To investigate ECC among nursery school children aged 3 to 5 years in Ibadan, Nigeria.

    Main Methods:

    • A cross-sectional study involving 540 nursery school children (aged 3-5 years) in Ibadan, Nigeria.
    • Oral examinations were conducted, and decayed-missing-filled teeth (dmft) indices were recorded.
    • Data analysis utilized SPSS 16.0 with descriptive statistics, setting the significance level at p < 0.05.

    Main Results:

    • The prevalence of ECC was 23.5%, with 127 children affected and 353 carious teeth.
    • The mean dmft score was 0.65 ± 1.49, with 100% of scores attributed to untreated decay.
    • Second mandibular primary molars were most affected (35.4% of decayed teeth); severe ECC prevalence was 2.2%.

    Conclusions:

    • High caries prevalence, particularly on second mandibular primary molars, indicates rampant early childhood caries.
    • The absence of missing or filled teeth in dmft scores suggests low dental awareness among parents/guardians.
    • Findings underscore the need for targeted public health strategies to improve oral hygiene and dental care for young children in Nigeria.
    Abstract

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