Experience of Dental Caries of Adult Patients in Relation To The Characteristic of Dental Visit and Brushing Behavior In Tikrit City

Abstract

Aim: Dental decay is a process in which the hard mineral structure of teeth is
dissolved. The process produces a cavity on the crown of the tooth or a softening
of the root surface. Without regular dental care people are often unaware of the
condition, whereas those who usually seek dental care for a check-up are more
likely to have dental decay treated in a timely manner The aim of the present
study was to determine the caries experience of public dental patients by age, sex
with the type of dental visit and brushing behavior in adults in Tikrit city, Iraq.
Subjects and methods: A sample of 1284 individuals(580 males and 704
females)with an age range of (18-60 years) attending the teaching dental hospital
of collage of dentistry of Tikrit university and the specialized dental center , were
examined according to WHO guidelines using DMFT index. Questionnaires were
used to assess the level of dental health attitude among the individuals.
Results: The distribution of patients was high at younger age for both sexes.
Emergency visit had a higher percentage of patients (82.2%). 63.6% of the
patients brush their teeth two or more. The mean DMFT scores were 7.5 (8.3 for
female and 6.7 for male). Mean DMFT for both sex increases with age. The
percentage of decayed teeth (D/DMFT%) was the highest among younger age
group (60.7% for female and 63.1% for male). There was statistically a highly
significant difference between age, sex, dental visit type and brushing behavior
and DMFT. Emergency patient did show higher level of decayed and missing
teeth while general patient did show higher level of filled teeth. Emergency
dental visit had higher percentage of decayed teeth (57.3%) than general dental
visit (42.5%). One or less brushing patient had higher level of decayed and
missing teeth, while two or more brushing patient show higher level of filled
teeth. The percentage of decayed teeth for one or less brushing patients was
(62.9%) higher than two or more brushing patients (50.1%).
Conclusion: It was concluded that the present study findings for DMFT scores was
higher than the global standers according to the world health organization
(WHO). Therefore, there is a great need to combine restorative-oriented dental
services with preventive- oriented dental services in order to improve the oral
health status of this population.