Caries Prevalence of Ghanaian Children in Rural and Urban Areas

Objectives: The purpose was to gain an overview of the oral health status of Ghanaian pre-school and school-aged children in rural and urban areas between the ages of 3 and 12 years in the southern area of the country. The study was carried out in 2017 and focused on identifying differences between these areas in terms of caries prevalence. Methods: The study was designed as a socio-epidemiological cross-sectional survey to include Ghanaian children and young adolescents between 3 to 4, 6 to 7, and 12 to 13 years of age. The participants were recruited from nurseries and schools in Accra (Greater Accra Region), representing urban and Kpando (Volta Region), representing rural areas of Ghana. The dental examination was conducted according to WHO criteria by one standardised investigator. The total number of decayed, missing, and filled primary teeth (dmft) for 3, 4, 6, and 7-year-olds or permanent teeth (DMFT) for 12 and 13 year-olds were recorded. Results: A total number of 313 children (165 urban, 148 rural) were included and examined. The distribution of participants according to age was as follows: 3 to 4 years (n=62), 6 to 7 years (n=47) and 12 to 13 years (n= 73). The average dmft among 3 to 4-year-old children was 0.9 in urban and 1.5 in rural areas, and among 6 to 7-year-olds 0.8 and 1.4, respectively. The average DMFT among 12 to 13-year-old adolescents was 0.9 and 0.3 respectively. Conclusions: The average dmft/DMFT-scores of Ghanaian children and adolescents ranges between 0.3 and 1.5. Whereas children from rural areas in the age groups 3 to 4 and 6 to 7 years consistently had fewer caries than those from urban areas, in contrast, adolescents in urban areas had a lower DMFT than those in rural areas. Keywords: oral health, caries, Ghana, DMFT, children