Oral health in rural children

Today, oral diseases are a public health problem affecting all segments of the population to varying degrees. Aim: To describe the oral health status of a Tunisian child population.Material and methods: A youth sample of the inhabitants of "Cebala" comprising all youngsters aged 6, 12 and 15 constituted the study population. The study spanned five months (January 2019- May 2019) Stratified cluster sampling method was adopted. Oral health status data were collected by a single examiner according to the survey form proposed by the WHO. Results: The study sample comprised 390 individuals The overall prevalence of dental caries was 38.9%. The overall CAD index was 2.5. Oral health status was significantly influenced by: dental trauma (p<0.05), gender (p<0.05) and mouth ulcers (p<0.05). Conclusion: The oral health status of the study population is acceptable, but vigilance is required.