Diseases and conditions falsely linked with “nylon teeth” myth: a cross sectional study of Tanzanian adults

Background: Different communities associate children’s ailments with their developmental milestones and they have beliefs on a variety of causes of the ailments. The objective of this study was to determine the diseases and conditions falsely linked with “nylon teeth” myth among Tanzanian adults.Methods: A cross sectional cluster study was conducted in five zones of Tanzania. A total of 200 individuals from each region stratified by age and sex were targeted. Study subjects included adults of child bearing age, elders, health care workers, teachers and traditional healers. A structured questionnaire was used to inquire for the demographic characteristics of the participants as well as diseases and conditions falsely linked with the nylon teeth myth.Results: A total of 1,359 people participated in the study. Of the total participants, 262 (19.3%) reported nylon teeth myth to exist in their locality. The main symptoms that were falsely linked with nylon teeth myth were diarrhoea (83.5%), long standing fevers (81.2%) and difficult in sucking (76.7%). Respondents less likely to falsely link nylon teeth myth with various diseases and conditions were residents in southern regions. They linked nylon teeth myth with diarrhoea (OR=0.29, CI=0.14-0.63), fevers (OR=0.38, CI=0.18-0.80), cough (OR=0.38, CI=0.16-0.94), stunting (OR=0.24, CI=0.10-0.58), excessive crying (OR=0.19, CI=0.09-0.40) and difficult sucking (OR=0.35 CI=0.17-0.70). Males linked the myth with stunting (OR=0.57, CI= 0.34-0.98) and excessive crying (OR 0.431, CI=0.24-0.78). The more educated respondents linked the myth with long standing cough (OR=2.068, CI=1.11-3.84) and stunting (OR=2.07, CI=1.10-3.76). The health care workers less likely linked nylon teeth with excessive crying (OR=0.37, CI=0.15-0.96) and difficult sucking (OR=0.29, CI=0.11-0.81).Conclusion: Diarrhoea, fevers and difficult in sucking were the symptoms most frequently linked with nylon teeth myth. Linking of the symptoms and the myth was more common among respondents from northern regions, non – medics, males and the more educated ones. Educational and behavioural change intervention against the diseases frequently falsely linked with nylon teeth myth is recommended to control the myth.

Prevalence of Oral Pain and Barriers to use of Emergency Oral Care Facilities Among Adult Tanzanians.

Oral pain has been the major cause of the attendances in the dental clinics in Tanzania. Some patients postpone seeing the dentist for as long as two to five days. This study determines the prevalence of oral pain and barriers to use of emergency oral care in Tanzania. Questionnaire data were collected from 1,759 adult respondents aged 18 years and above. The study area covered six urban and eight rural study clusters, which had been selected using the WHO Pathfinder methodology. Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associations.\ud Forty two percent of the respondents had utilized the oral health care facilities sometimes in their lifetime. About 59% of the respondents revealed that they had suffered from oral pain and/or discomfort within the twelve months that preceded the study, but only 26.5% of these had sought treatment from oral health care facilities. The reasons for not seeking emergency care were: lack of money to pay for treatment (27.9%); self medication (17.6%); respondents thinking that pain would disappear with time (15.7%); and lack of money to pay for transport to the dental clinic (15.0%). Older adults were more likely to report that they had experienced oral pain during the last 12 months than the younger adults (OR = 1.57, CI 1.07-1.57, P < 0.001). Respondents from rural areas were more likely report dental clinics far from home (OR = 5.31, CI = 2.09-13.54, P < 0.001); self medication at home (OR = 3.65, CI = 2.25-5.94, P < 0.001); and being treated by traditional healer (OR = 5.31, CI = 2.25-12.49, P < 0.001) as reasons for not seeking emergency care from the oral health care facilities than their counterparts from urban areas. Oral pain and discomfort were prevalent among adult Tanzanians. Only a quarter of those who experienced oral pain or discomfort sought emergency oral care from oral health care facilities. Self medication was used as an alternative to using oral care facilities mainly by rural residents. Establishing oral care facilities in rural areas is recommended

Oral health related behaviors among adult Tanzanians: a national pathfinder survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The oral health education programs which have been organised and delivered in Tanzania were not based on a thorough understanding of behaviours which influence oral health. Therefore, evaluation of these programs became difficult. This study aimed at investigating the oral health related behaviours and their determinants among Tanzanian adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A national pathfinder cross sectional survey was conducted in 2006 involving 1759 respondents from the six geographic zones of mainland Tanzania. Frequency distributions, Chi square and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 13.0.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The rates of abstinence from alcohol for the past 30 days and life time smoking were 61.6% and 16.7% respectively, with males being more likely to smoke (OR 9.2, CI 6.3 -12.9, p < 0.001) and drink alcohol (OR 1.5, CI 1.2 -1.8, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that; having dental pain (OR 0.7, CI 0.5-0.8; p < 0.001) and being minimally educated (OR 0.48, CI 0.4-0.6; p < 0.001) reduced the likelihood of having a high sugar score. Whereas being male (OR 1.5, CI 1.2- 1.8; p < 0.001), urban (OR 1.9, CI 1.5 -2.3; p < 0.001), and young (OR 1.5, CI 1.2 -1.8; p < 0.001) increased the likelihood of having a high sugar score. Urban residents were less likely to take alcohol (OR 0.7, CI 0.6-0.9; p < 0.01), or smoke cigarette (OR = 0.7, CI = 0.6-0.9); less likely to be those who do not use fruits (OR 0.3, CI 0.2-0.4; p < 0.001); dental clinic (OR 0.5, CI 0.4-0.7; p < 0.001); factory made tooth brushes (OR 0.1, CI 0.08-0.17; p < 0.001) and toothpaste (OR 0.1, CI 0.1-0.2; p < 0.001) than their rural counterparts. More rural (13.2%) than urban (4.6%) residents used charcoal.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings of this study demonstrated social demographic disparities in relation to oral health related behaviors, while dental pain was associated with low consumption of sugar and high likelihood to take alcohol.</p

Socio-demographic and behavioural correlates of oral health related quality of life among Tanzanian adults: a national pathfinder survey

In response to the growing recognition of quality of life measurement in health care, indicators that address the social and psychological consequences of oral disorders have been developed to complement conventional clinical assessment. The objective of this study was to determine sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among Tanzanian adults. The national pathfinder survey methodology described in the WHO Oral Health Surveys – Basic Methods was used to obtain a total of 1,759 Tanzanian adults aged 18 years and above. In line with the pathfinder methodology clusters were purposively selected to represent cities, towns and rural areas. In each cluster individuals were stratified by age and sex. The outcome variable was the OHRQoL in terms of oral impacts on daily performances (OIDP). Frequency distribution, bivariate analyses, and generalized linear models using log binomial regression models were performed by SPSS version 15. About half (49.1%) of the respondents reported at least one oral impact during a period of three months before the survey. Difficulty in chewing was the most prevalent impact affecting 39.9% of participants. A higher proportion of those who reported poor conditions of teeth had difficulties in chewing and sleeping was often interrupted. Multivariate analysis indicated that those who perceived their teeth conditions to be good (PR=0.38; CI: 0.32-0.44), were of younger age (PR=0.84; CI: 0.77-0.90), and had visited a dentist during the past five years or more (PR=0.84; CI: 0.77-0.90) and were less likely to have an oral impact. On the other hand those who restricted their sugar consumption (PR=1.12; CI: 1.03- 0.1.22) were more likely to have an impact on at least one daily performance. It is concluded that the prevalence of OIDP was high while perceived teeth conditions and age varied with OHRQoL in terms of OIDP in the expected direction. Those who visited the dental clinic in the recent past had more impacts than those who did not. The findings of this study confirm the usefulness of subjective indicators in explaining peoples’ suffering. In this regard it is recommended that in the next national pathfinder survey traditional clinical oral health indicators should be complemented with subjective indicators in order to obtain triangulated data for planning oral health services in Tanzania

Socio-demographic and behavioural correlates of oral health related quality of life among Tanzanian adults: a national pathfinder survey

In response to the growing recognition of quality of life measurement in health care, indicators that address the social and psychological consequences of oral disorders have been developed to complement conventional clinical assessment. The objective of this study was to determine sociodemographic and behavioural correlates of oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) among Tanzanian adults. The national pathfinder survey methodology described in the WHO Oral Health Surveys – Basic Methods was used to obtain a total of 1,759 Tanzanian adults aged 18 years and above. In line with the pathfinder methodology clusters were purposively selected to represent cities, towns and rural areas. In each cluster individuals were stratified by age and sex. The outcome variable was the OHRQoL in terms of oral impacts on daily performances (OIDP). Frequency distribution, bivariate analyses, and generalized linear models using log binomial regression models were performed by SPSS version 15. About half (49.1%) of the respondents reported at least one oral impact during a period of three months before the survey. Difficulty in chewing was the most prevalent impact affecting 39.9% of participants. A higher proportion of those who reported poor conditions of teeth had difficulties in chewing and sleeping was often interrupted. Multivariate analysis indicated that those who perceived their teeth conditions to be good (PR=0.38; CI: 0.32-0.44), were of younger age (PR=0.84; CI: 0.77-0.90), and had visited a dentist during the past five years or more (PR=0.84; CI: 0.77-0.90) and were less likely to have an oral impact. On the other hand those who restricted their sugar consumption (PR=1.12; CI: 1.03- 0.1.22) were more likely to have an impact on at least one daily performance. It is concluded that the prevalence of OIDP was high while perceived teeth conditions and age varied with OHRQoL in terms of OIDP in the expected direction. Those who visited the dental clinic in the recent past had more impacts than those who did not. The findings of this study confirm the usefulness of subjective indicators in explaining peoples’ suffering. In this regard it is recommended that in the next national pathfinder survey traditional clinical oral health indicators should be complemented with subjective indicators in order to obtain triangulated data for planning oral health services in Tanzania

Assessing association of dental caries with child oral impact on daily performance; a cross-sectional study of adolescents in Copperbelt province, Zambia

Abstract Background Dental caries and child oral impact on daily performance (C-OIDP) have been linked in several studies. However, the studies used caries indices, which limit the ability to examine how C-OIDP prevalence varies across various stages of the dental caries process. Furthermore, cross-cultural differences between Zambia and other African countries where the C-OIDP instrument has been widely used necessitate testing its pychometric properties. This study’s primary aim was to evaluate the association between dental caries and C-OIDP. Secondarily, the study reports the psychometric properties of the C-OIDP index among Zambian adolescents. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and June 2021 among grade 8–9 adolescents in Copperbelt province, Zambia. A multistage cluster sampling method was used to select participants. Using a pretested self-administered questionnaire, socio-demographics, oral health behaviors, self-reported oral health, and C-OIDP were evaluated. The test-retest and internal consistency reliability of the C-OIDP were evaluated. The Caries Assessment and Treatment Spectrum (CAST) was used to evaluate dental caries. Adjusted odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals were used to evaluate the association between dental caries and C-OIDP after adjusting for confounders identified by a directed acyclic graph. Results Among 1,794 participants, 54.0% were females, while 56.0% were aged 11–14 years. About a quarter (24.6%) had one or more teeth at the pre-morbidity stage, 15.2% at the morbidity, 6.4% at the severe morbidity and 2.7 at the mortality stage. The internal consistency reliability of the C-OIDP Cohen’s Kappa was 0.940, while the Kappa coefficients of the C-OIDP items ranged from 0.960 to 1.00. Participants with severe caries had a high prevalence of C-OIDP, with rates for morbidity, severe morbidity, and mortality stages being 49.3%, 65.3%, and 49.3%, respectively. Oral impacts were 2.6 times (AOR 2.6, 95% CI 2.1–3.4) more likely to be reported by participants with dental caries than those without caries. Conclusions Dental caries was associated with high reporting of C-OIDP, and C-OIDP prevalence was high among participants in the severe stages of the caries process. The English version of the C-OIDP demonstrated adequate psychometric characteristics for assessing OHRQoL among Zambian adolescents