Oral health and its influencing factors among children in Tai'an municipality

Objective To examine the status and influencing factors of oral health status among children in Tai'an city of Shandong province,and to provide references for promoting oral health in the population.Methods Using age-stratified random sampling,three groups of children aged <6,6-10,and >10 years (500 in each group) were recruited and a survey including oral disease examination and questionnaire interview among their caregivers were conducted between January and March 2015.Results Of the 1 471 children (489 of <6,492 of 6-10,and 490 of >10 years old),429 were detected with oral diseases,with a prevalence rate of 29.16%.There were significant age-differences in the prevalence rates of dental caries (15.10%),calculus (11.43%),and oral ulcer (10.20%) among the children (P<0.05 for all) and the highest age-specific prevalence rate of the three oral diseases were observed among the children of >10 years old.Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis showed that aged ≥6 years was a risk factor,while eating snacks ≤4 days per week,having tooth brushing before the age of 3 years,and being supervised for tooth brushing and oral hygiene by parents were protective factors of oral diseases among the children.Conclusion Oral diseases are prevalent among the children,especially among those >10 years old,in Tai'an municipality and are mainly influenced by age,frequency of eating snacks,the age of taking tooth brushing,and parents' supervision on tooth brushing and oral hygiene.