Risk Factors of Dental Caries: Consumption of Sugary Snacks Among Indonesian Adolescents

Objective: To determine the risk factors of caries among adolescents in Padang City, by assessing the frequency of sugary snack consumption.  Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 150 randomly selected junior high school students using a self-administered questionnaire along with oral examinations. The questionnaire consisted of questions on socio-demographic characteristics, oral health behavior, and frequency of consumption of sugary foods. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square tests and multivariate analysis.  Results: Dental caries was found in 61% of the total students and was more prevalent in males when compared with females. The mean DMFT score was 1.3±1.4. Sugary snack consumption, attitude, and protective factors were significantly related to the occurrence of caries (p<0.001). The risk of dental caries in subjects with high amounts of sugary snack consumption was 5.67 times higher (OR=5.7; CI: 2.7-11.9) than those with low consumption. Subjects with low protective factors, high consumption of sugary foods and drinks, and bad attitude presented with a caries prevalence of 94%.  Conclusion: The consumption of sugary foods was found to play an important role in the development of caries in the current study.