Dental Caries Status among Yi Preschool Children in Yunnan Province, China: A Cross-Sectional Study

Ni Zhou, Hui Ding, Juan Liu, Jieyi Chen, Shinan Zhang and Chun-Hung Chu
Additional contact information
Ni Zhou: School of Stomatology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650000, China
Hui Ding: School of Stomatology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650000, China
Juan Liu: School of Stomatology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650000, China
Jieyi Chen: Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510000, China
Shinan Zhang: School of Stomatology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming 650000, China
Chun-Hung Chu: Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-9

Abstract: Background: The Yi ethnic group is the sixth largest minority in China. The aim of this study was to investigate dental caries status among Yi preschool children in the Yunnan province, China. Method: This cross-sectional study invited 5-year-old Yi children using multistage cluster sampling. Two trained and calibrated dentists examined the children in kindergartens. The children’s dental caries experience was assessed using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) index. Visual plaque on an indexed tooth of each six sextants was recorded and the oral hygiene status was assessed using the Visible Plaque Index. Parents completed questionnaires that surveyed their educational attainment. The questionnaires also collected information about the children’s demographics, snacking habits, oral-health-related behaviors and dental visit experiences. The associations between caries experiences and potential factors were analyzed using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Results: All 452 invited children (249 boys, 55%) participated in this study with a response rate of 100%. Dental caries prevalence rate was 83%. The mean dmft score and decayed teeth score were 5.2 ± 4.4 and 5.1 ± 4.4, respectively. Almost half of the children (n = 211, 47%) had visible plaque on four or more of the six sextants. Most (n = 366, 81%) of the children had not visited a dentist in the prior 12 months. Regression analysis found the children’s caries experience was associated with their dental visit experience. Conclusion: The great majority of the Yi preschool children experienced dental caries and almost all of the cavities were not restored. Their oral hygiene was poor and visible plaque was commonly found on their teeth.

Keywords: child; cross-sectional study; dental caries; oral health; ethnic group (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8393/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8393/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8393-:d:610651

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().