Prevalence of dental caries in high school students in Asmara, Eritrea

Background: Dental Caries is a common but unnoticed health problem affecting all age groups Dental Surgeon to population ration is 1:900000 rendering effective service with this scarce man power impossible. Objective: To determine the prevalence of dental caries in Eritrea. Method: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted to determine the prevalence of dental caries and the factors contributing to it among high school students of Asmara. Data was collected in the month of April 2002. The study population was from 4 randomly selected schools out of the 13 high schools. The data collection techniques were interviewing and observations using structured questionnaire and check list forms .The sampling method was multi stage 4 schools were selected by simple random sampling and systematic sampling was applied to select 100 students from each of the year sampled schools. Results: Slightly more than 50% of the students had dental caries .Of these 123 (67%) of the students had 1-3 decayed teeth. The study did not reveal any significant association between the suspected contributing factors and dental caries. The awareness of the students in regard to their dental health status had significant association with the presence of dental caries. But 88 (55%) of them did not seek medical care in spite of knowing that they had dental problem. Conclusion: Dental carries are common among school going children. There is limited knowledge about the existence of the problem and even if present a substantial fraction does not seek medical attention. There is urgent need to institute national interventions to prevent the further increase in disease burden from dental diseases. Conclusion: Dental caries are a major disease in Eritrea. IEC materials should be disseminated to curb further increase in dental problems targeting students at high schools as they are a vulnerable group