Prevalence of Dental Caries and Predisposing Factors in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Prevalence of Dental Caries and Predisposing Factors in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Port Harcourt Background: Dental caries is a common oral health disease of global interest. The burden of thedisease and predisposing factors must be determined before a preventive programme could bedesigned, but relevant data from community-based studies are not common in Rivers State.Aims and Objectives: This study was designed to determine the prevalence and predisposing factorsto caries development in the Local Government Area (LGA).Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among adultresidents in Obio-Akpor LGA of Rivers State. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was usedto collect personal data and caries predisposing factors while oral examination was carried out todetermine caries severity and oral hygiene status using DMFT and OHI-S indexes respectively. Thesample size (240) was determined using the formula for descriptive studies.Results: The mean (SD) age was 32(±1.113) years. Most of the participants were married, Ikwerres,skilled workers, earn <100dollar and most had secondary education. Most seldom/never use tobaccoproducts. Most ate fresh fruits every day or several times a week and most also ate cariogenic dietevery day or several times a day. Most use fluoride toothpaste once a day and most do not use floss.Most have never seen a dentist. The prevalence of untreated caries was 64.2%. DMFT score=0.91(very low). The OHI-S = 3.3. (>3 indicates poor OHI).Conclusions: The DMFT index was low while OHI-S was high. Poor oral hygiene status, oralhealthcare utilization and cariogenic diets predisposed the participants to caries.Key words: Caries, prevalence, predisposing factors, prevention