Özet:

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of dental caries and related factors in first year primary school students. Methods: The data of the study was taken from the "Strong Teeth" project conducted in 2008-2012 in Mersin, Toroslar district. The data of 4010 out of 4323 students in the first year of 41 primary schools were included in the study. Chi-square, t-test, linear by linear association and logistic regression tests were used to investigate the variables related to dental caries. Statistical significance level was accepted as α ≤0.05. Results: Of the 4010 primary school students included in the study, 79.5% were seven years old and 51.9% were male. 48.4% of the students had never been to a dentist before. The average number of decayed teeth was 4.4±3.6 (DMF=4. 49±3.6) in primary teeth, 0.4±0.9 (DMF=0.42±1.0) in permanent teeth, and the total number of caries was 4.9 (±3.5). The prevalence of milk tooth decay was higher in boys (85.8%) than girls (82.8%), while the prevalence of permanent tooth decay was higher in girls (20.6%) than boys (17.6%) (p <0.05). 25.6% of the students had at least one loss of milk teeth and 1% had at least one permanent tooth loss. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that inadequate maternal education increased the likelihood of children presenting with caries 1.84 (CI 1.27-2.67) times, while inadequate father education increased the same likelihood by 1.47 (CI 1.13-1.92) times and eating sugar every day by 1.58 (CI 1.18-2.12) times. Conclusion: It should be accepted as a national policy that the tooth brushing habit should be gained in the preschool period. In schools, it is recommended that parents should be included in oral dental health protection programs and that sugary foods and drinks in the school canteen should be controlled

Anahtar Kelimeler: