Prevalence of dental caries among 16-year-olds in Troms County, Northern Norway

The investigation documents caries prevalence and associated factors in a sample of16-year- olds from Troms County, Northern Norway. DMFT/S-values were 4.2/6.1, indicating dental health being similar to the south of Norway and the rest of Scandinavia. No ethnic differences were recorded. Out of a total of 22 tested variables, the following nine showed an independent strong association (p=0,001) with prevalence of dental caries: parental education, tooth brushing frequency, parental control of oral hygiene in young age, dental fear, self-rated dental health, BMI, self-rated general health, use of smokeless tobacco, and initial approximal caries. The final multivariate regression analysis indicated that use of smokeless tobacco, dental fear, self-rated dental health and initial approximal caries showed a strong independent association with prevalence of manifest dental caries. In addition, parental education and sugar consumption appeared to be of importance. Sedentary lifestyle with low level of physical activity or hours spent in front of a TV/computer screen did not show any correlation with prevalence of dental caries. Tooth brushing frequency, gingival bleeding, obesity and aspects of general health showed a strong bi-variate association that disappeared when controlling for other variables in a multivariate regression model.The results highlight the importance of including attitude and lifestyle modifiable factors in oral and general health education approaches. Additionally, focus should be set on the management of dental fear in the context of targeted oral health strategies. Fi- nally, it would be beneficial to include initial approximal caries, life style factors, and perception and attitudes to general as well as dental health in caries prediction models.