OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of dental caries and their association with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) among 5- to 10-year-old students attending private and government schools.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among schoolchildren. Data was collected from the primary caregivers using a pre-tested form to assess the ETS exposure under 5 domains based on history: antenatal exposure; exposure during the index period; exposure in the school neighborhood; exposure in restaurants/roadside stalls; and exposure in bus stops/railway stations. Dental caries was assessed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines from 1997. The association was reported using prevalence ratios (PRs) (95% confidence interval (CI)).
RESULTS: Data was obtained from 211 schoolchildren attending government (39.8%) and private schools (60.2%). The overall prevalence (95% CI) of dental caries was 49.3% (42.5-56.1%). Among all the risk factors evaluated in the study, exposure to ETS was associated with a significantly increased risk of dental caries. The adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) of ETS exposure varied with the mother's educational status and high sugar exposure, although this was statistically insignificant.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of dental caries among schoolchildren aged 5 to 10 years in the city was moderate and similar to the national average. Among the risk factors assessed in the study, antenatal exposure to ETS was found to significantly increase the prevalence of dental caries by 41% after adjusting for other factors. Therefore, it is important to educate parents on the causal role of ETS exposure in dental caries.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An online questionnaire in a Google form link was circulated among the target population via various online platforms. It consisted of 14 close-ended questions assessing these students' knowledge and source of COVID-19-related information. SPSS software version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used to compute descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, independent t-test, and ANOVA tests for comparing various variables, and a p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: The study yielded 809 responses from dental undergraduate students from India, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Turkey. Dental students from Turkey reported a higher mean knowledge score of 7.91±1.34 and 7.88±0.58 for Malaysian dental students. In contrast, the lower scores were achieved by Saudi Arabia (7.36±1.22) and India (7.37±1.21) dental students, and the findings were statistically significant (p<0.05). The study population used various sources to attain information regarding COVID-19. Most respondents (63.1%) utilized information regarding COVID-19 from multiple sources rather than single sources (36.9%).
CONCLUSIONS: Reliable and validated information sources resulted in higher knowledge scores. Turkey and Malaysia dental students reported a higher mean knowledge score and the lowest for Saudi Arabia and India dental students. There is increased popularity of social media platforms as information sources.