Komal Zia, Julie Susan Rajan, Soban Qadir Khan, Talal Siddiqui.
Effect of Dietary and Oral Hygiene Pattern on Incidence of Dental Caries among a Population from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ann Jinnah Sindh Med Uni Jan ;4(1):30-4.

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the effects of dietary and oral hygiene maintenance patterns on the incidence of dental caries among a population from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire was prepared (according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, and intra-oral examination was conducted on 201 random male and female patients (n=201) who visited the clinics of Riyadh College of Dentistry and Pharmacy (RCDP) between August 2014 and January 2015. The participants were divided into three groups: Group 1?involving children and teenagers (6-19 years), Group 2?consisting of middle aged people (20-40 years) and Group 3?including older patients (41-60 years). Data were collected and analyzed statistically using T-test. Results: The participants of Group 1 were found to be more prone to caries due to their unhealthy dietary pattern and negligence in maintaining oral hygiene. Group 3 participants showed similar results probably due to their poor general health leading to inferior oral health. In spite of an unhealthy diet, Group 2 participants still showed less prevalence of caries because of their good oral hygiene maintenance. Prevalence of dental caries in the sample was 85.6% and increase in age was significantly associated with increased caries prevalence which was statistically significant (p=0.000, ANOVA). Post Hoc test was used to compare age groups with DMFT and significance was found when Group 1 was compared to Group 2 (0.016), Group 1 to Group 3(0.005), and Group 2 to Group 3 (0.000). Conclusion: This study showed that unhealthy dietary patterns, along with poor oral hygiene maintenance, can lead to dental caries. Thus, a proper balanced diet and preventive measures for proper oral hygiene maintenance must be adopted to prevent or reduce incidence of dental caries. Key words: Dental caries; oral hygiene; dietary habits

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