The Evaluation of The Effects of Socio -Demographic Factors on Oral And Dental Health: A Study on The Ages 6-12

Abstract

Dental caries are known to represent one of the most important causes of severe health problems both in children and in adolescents. Poor oral hygiene is closely associated with the child's feeding, sleeping, leaning and self-confidence. In this study, we aimed to identify the relationship of oral hygiene with the social life experienced by 6-12 years-old children, and to introduce preventive treatment to these children at an early stage. Study data were obtained from a questionnaire containing demographic questions and conducted on parents of 120 children, and also from results of oral finding following oral medical examinations performed by the dentist. Bacteria plaque index (BPI) which was determined following examination performed by the dentist was also considered as research data. According to results of this research, we are of the opinion that health authorities in Turkey should encourage preventive and implementation of development programs towards public and school-based mouth-dental health care, and that early preventive treatments measures acquired by children would greatly help to reduce state health expenditure on oral health. Furthermore, this study is considered as a preliminary investigation for a project to be carried out by the researchers. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.