{"title":"Dental Caries Status and Associated Factors Among Adults in Southeastern Iran: Findings From the Zahedan Adult Cohort Study.","authors":"Somaye Ansari Moghadam, Razie Keikha Arya, Hassan Okati-Aliabad, Mahdi Mohammadi, Alireza Ansari-Moghaddam","doi":"10.1002/cre2.70236","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Dental caries remains a major public health concern globally. This study aimed to assess the dental caries status and its associated factors among adults in Southeastern Iran.</p><p><strong>Material and methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study included 10,016 adults aged 35-70 years who participated in the Zahedan Adult Cohort Study (ZACS). The status of dental caries was assessed using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, oral hygiene practices, presence of oral lesions, current cigarette smoking and drug use, and history of chronic condition were collected through valid questionnaires from the ZACS. One-factor and multifactor general linear models were used to identify significant factors associated with DMFT.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In this study, 99.4% of participants had a DMFT score of 1 or higher, indicating a high lifetime experience of dental caries. The mean DMFT score was 17.3. Additionally, 47.91% of participants had filled teeth (1), and 78.7% had decayed teeth (DT), with the 35-40 age group showing the lowest mean DT score of 3.65. Conversely, individuals over 60 had the highest DMFT score of 22.88. In the multifactor model, DMFT significantly increased with age and decreased with higher education levels. DMFT also decreased from underweight to obese individuals. Furthermore, DMFT significantly decreased with increased daily tooth brushing, while cigarette smokers and drug users exhibited significantly higher DMFT scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study revealed significant variations in DMFT scores based on age, education, and oral hygiene practices among adults in Southeastern Iran, highlighting the importance of consistent dental brushing. The findings suggest the need for targeted public health interventions, particularly for smokers, drug users, and less educated populations, to address oral health challenges and reduce dental caries prevalence.</p>","PeriodicalId":10203,"journal":{"name":"Clinical and Experimental Dental Research","volume":"11 5","pages":"e70236"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12502622/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Clinical and Experimental Dental Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cre2.70236","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"DENTISTRY, ORAL SURGERY & MEDICINE","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Objectives: Dental caries remains a major public health concern globally. This study aimed to assess the dental caries status and its associated factors among adults in Southeastern Iran.
Material and methods: This cross-sectional study included 10,016 adults aged 35-70 years who participated in the Zahedan Adult Cohort Study (ZACS). The status of dental caries was assessed using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, oral hygiene practices, presence of oral lesions, current cigarette smoking and drug use, and history of chronic condition were collected through valid questionnaires from the ZACS. One-factor and multifactor general linear models were used to identify significant factors associated with DMFT.
Results: In this study, 99.4% of participants had a DMFT score of 1 or higher, indicating a high lifetime experience of dental caries. The mean DMFT score was 17.3. Additionally, 47.91% of participants had filled teeth (1), and 78.7% had decayed teeth (DT), with the 35-40 age group showing the lowest mean DT score of 3.65. Conversely, individuals over 60 had the highest DMFT score of 22.88. In the multifactor model, DMFT significantly increased with age and decreased with higher education levels. DMFT also decreased from underweight to obese individuals. Furthermore, DMFT significantly decreased with increased daily tooth brushing, while cigarette smokers and drug users exhibited significantly higher DMFT scores.
Conclusions: This study revealed significant variations in DMFT scores based on age, education, and oral hygiene practices among adults in Southeastern Iran, highlighting the importance of consistent dental brushing. The findings suggest the need for targeted public health interventions, particularly for smokers, drug users, and less educated populations, to address oral health challenges and reduce dental caries prevalence.
期刊介绍：
Clinical and Experimental Dental Research aims to provide open access peer-reviewed publications of high scientific quality representing original clinical, diagnostic or experimental work within all disciplines and fields of oral medicine and dentistry. The scope of Clinical and Experimental Dental Research comprises original research material on the anatomy, physiology and pathology of oro-facial, oro-pharyngeal and maxillofacial tissues, and functions and dysfunctions within the stomatognathic system, and the epidemiology, aetiology, prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of diseases and conditions that have an effect on the homeostasis of the mouth, jaws, and closely associated structures, as well as the healing and regeneration and the clinical aspects of replacement of hard and soft tissues with biomaterials, and the rehabilitation of stomatognathic functions. Studies that bring new knowledge on how to advance health on the individual or public health levels, including interactions between oral and general health and ill-health are welcome.
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