Abstract

Increased figures in tooth extractions among the youth population in the Northern Hhohho region of Swaziland prompted the researchers to investigate these development, with the purpose of assessing and describing dental healthcare practices and caries experiences among school going teenagers. The study engaged a randomized-survey design through a self-administered questionnaire. The population sample comprised 562 secondary school-going pupils (13 to 18 years). On self-reported caries experiences, about 43.3% reported to have had one or more decayed-teeth; 21.9% were found to be consuming foods comprising refined-carbohydrates daily; and about 30.3% often go to bed chewing sweets. About 98.8% brush their teeth at least once a day, and about 77.8% knew other unconventional tooth brushing methods. Logistic regression results suggest that pupils who were within 10 km of a dental clinic were 30% less likely to be found with decayed-teeth (e^B=0.719; p-value=0.082). Surprisingly, pupils who knew the cause of caries were almost twice likely to be found with decayed-teeth (e^B=1.866; p-value=0.003). Those who took soft-drinks for their daily refreshments increased their chances of being found with decayed-teeth by three-folds (e^B=3.33; p-value=0.008). Pupils who knew the difference between tooth-decay and gum disease were twice likely to be found with decayed-teeth (e^B=1.918; p-value=0.003). It can therefore be concluded that whilst caries affect teenagers uniformly (whether boys/girls); most of the known caries causal factors do not seem to influence the probability of having caries in this region.

Key words: Dental caries experiences, oral hygiene, dietary habits, tooth-brushing, teenagers.