Abstract
Aims To determine the association between use of recommended
oral self-care (ROSC) caries prevention tools
and presence of dental caries in children resident in suburban
Nigeria.
Methodology Secondary analysis was conducted for a
dataset generated for 1–12 years old children recruited
through a household survey. Information on use of ROSC
caries prevention tools (brushing more than once a day, use
of fluoridated toothpaste always, and eating sugary snacks
between main meals less than once a day), use of oral
health adjuncts (dental floss, mouth rinses, other tooth
cleansing agents) and presence of caries were extracted.
The odds of having caries when ROSC caries prevention
tools were used singly or in combination, were determined
using multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age and
sex.
Results The single or combined use of ROSC caries prevention
tools had no statistically significant association
with presence of caries. Brushing more than once a day
reduced the odds of having caries while consumption of
sugar between meals once a day or more increased the odds
of having caries after adjusting for age and gender. The use
of two ROSC caries prevention tools reduced the risk for
caries (AOR 0.28; 95 % CI 0.05–1.53) when adjusted for
age. The converse was observed when adjusted for gender
(AOR 1.15; 95 % CI 0.38–3.45). The largest effect size
was observed when sugary snacks were taken once a day or
more between meals after adjusting for age (AOR 5.74;
95 % CI 0.34–96.11).
Conclusion The use of a combination of fluoridated
toothpaste and twice-daily tooth brushing had the largest
effect on reducing the chance for caries in children resident
in Ile-Ife, Nigeria.5
