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Social factors and oral hygiene habits among caries free children in a low fluoride area in Sri Lanka
Author(s) -
Warnakulasuriya K. A. A. S.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1988.tb01756.x
Subject(s) - medicine , sri lanka , tooth brushing , oral hygiene , dentistry , hygiene , environmental health , demography , brush , toothbrush , ethnology , south asia , pathology , sociology , electrical engineering , history , engineering
The relationship of tooth cleaning habits and caries free status of a group of 13–16‐yr‐old children who were not subjected to any caries preventive measures in Sri Lanka were studied. Despite lack of prevention, 31 % of the subjects were caries free, and a higher proportion of these were boys. All subjects reported brushing their teeth at least once a day. The study failed to show any relationship between either brushing frequency or the use of brush or finger for tooth cleaning, and caries. Although social status by father's employment was not related to the caries status, it was seen that a higher proportion of children of employed mothers' were caries free. Significant differences in oral hygiene habits except brushing frequency were noted among different social groups.