Dental Caries, Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Conditions
Brief summary
An orphan is defined as a child under the age of 18 whose mother, father, both parents, and a primary caregiver has died, and who is in need of care or protection. Orphans, therefore, are considered disadvantaged and socially marginalized population whom diseases burden is high. Egypt has 1.7 million orphaned children. The number of children between the age of 0 and 17 who are currently registered in orphanages is 12,015. Dental diseases especially plaque, gingival and dental caries are highly preventable, with the highest prevalence in the developing countries. Profound disparities exist in oral health status across different social and economic divisions. The pattern of orphanage living is quite different from family living as the latter provides physical security, food, and shelter but is devoid of psychological security. High prevalence of dental caries, gingivitis and dental trauma has been observed in children of orphanages. This has been attributed to many factors such as: lack of adequate staff, poor oral hygiene, improper nutrition and eating patterns, high consumption of sugary food, negligence of tooth brushing, moreover the children and caregivers knowledge, level of education and oral health illiteracy. Untreated oral diseases could lead to psychological and general health problems, pain and loss in school time. Recognition of these problems is essential to provide optimum oral health for these deprived children. Health education is an important tool of public health and an effective primary preventive method especially for school aged children in controlling plaque, gingival and dental diseases.
Detailed description
The aim of this study is to raise more awareness about the causes of dental diseases (plaque, gingival and dental caries and their prevention through implementing an educational program to the orphan children focusing on tooth brushing, proper use of fluoride products and proper nutrition. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the impact of the oral health education program on the Knowledge and practices of the orphans and also its effect on the gingival health and dental caries among the children in different branches of orphanages in Egypt.
Interventions
Oral health educational program about oral hygiene, prevention of dental caries and techniques of tooth brushing
Sponsors
Cairo University
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
7 Years to 17 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Orphan Children aged 7 years old and above. * Educated children. * No learning difficulty. * No medical conditions.
Exclusion criteria
* Any child that refuses to participate
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Oral hygiene knowledge, and practices of the orphan children | Before the educational program and after 2 months | Questionnaire including 20 questions about the oral hygiene knowledge and practices of the children. This questionnaire was used before the educational program and after 2 months from the program |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dental Caries experience for permanent dentition | Before the educational program and after 2 months | DMF index for permanent teeth |
| Dental Caries experience for mixed dentition | Before the educational program and after 2 months | Both dental caries indices (DMF and def) are used to provide the caries experience of each participant, they are not added together and reported separately as mixed dentition has both primary and permanent teeth, so we need to record primary teeth with def and permanent teeth with DMF |
| Oral hygiene | Before the educational program and after 2 months | Oral Hygiene Index-Simplified which is assessed through scores from 0-3 |
Countries
Egypt
Outcome results
None listed