Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the dental caries experience and the frequency of the associated factors causing dental caries. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Islamabad Dental Hospital among adolescents and adults for duration of 3 months. A sample size of 349 patients was selected using convenience sampling. Informed consent was obtained from each patient and associated factors were recorded in a proforma. Clinical examination of each patient was carried out and decayed, missing and filled teeth were recorded in a DMFT chart. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22.0 and was presented in the form of percentage tables. It was observed that 61.6% of the patients cleaned their teeth daily, among which 58.8% cleaned their teeth once a day. Tooth brush was used by 78.4% of the patients, whereas majority of the patients did not use any cleaning aid such as tooth pick or floss. Data analysis showed that 72.2% of the patients consumed sweets once a day, but 90.8% didn’t brush their teeth after sweet intake. The percentage of decayed teeth among the patients examined was 89.4%. Mean DMFT index was 3.56. Poor oral hygiene and dietary habits are possibly the major contributing factors to the high caries rate and DMFT. Oral health education programs could be used to educate the masses regarding oral hygiene practices and dietary controls.

Key words: KEYWORDS: Dental caries, Associated risk factors, Oral hygiene, DMFT.