Caregiver’s Oral Healthcare Practices And The
Level of Utilisation Of Oral Health Services and
The Dental Caries Experience Of 3-12-Year-Olds
Suffering From Heart Disease in Nairobi, Kenya
Volume 2 - Issue 1
Daniel Kimei1 and Gladys N Opinya2*
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- 1BDS (Nairobi) MDS Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics; School of Dental Sciences, College of the Health
Sciences University of Nairobi, Kenya
- 2BDS (Nairobi) CAGS, MSc. (Boston) Ph.D. Professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics; School of Dental
Sciences; College of the Health Sciences University of Nairobi, Kenya
*Corresponding author:
Gladys Nabubwaya Opinya, Department of Paediatric Dentistry &Orthodontics; School of Dental Sciences, College
of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, Kenya, P.O. Box 30197. 00100
Received: April 13, 2018; Published: April 26, 2018
DOI: 10.32474/MADOHC.2018.02.000129
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Abstract
Cardiac diseases require that there is the meticulous maintenance of oral hygiene to avoid bacteremia, which has been associated
with rheumatic heart disease and bacterial endocarditis. The aim was to establish the utilisation of oral health care and oral health
practices of the caregiver about the oral hygiene and caries experience of children aged 3-12 years suffering from heart disease and
were attending three pediatric cardiology clinics in Nairobi, Kenya. The study was descriptive and cross-sectional. It involved a study
sample of children suffering from different types of cardiac conditions and attending the Pediatric cardiac clinics in three public
institutions in Nairobi Kenya. The instruments the caregivers used to brush the children’s teeth were the toothbrush 61(75%);
chewing stick 14(17%) and 6 (8%) never cleaned their teeth. Children who used a chewing stick had a lower dmft of 1.40±2.98
compared to a dmft of 3.22±3.59 among children who used the toothbrush, with Mann Whitney U, Z p=0.024 (p≤0.05).The children
who brushed their teeth had a lower mean plaque score of 1.68±0.58 compared those who did not clean with a mean plaque of
2.28±0.40 with a Mann Whitney U, Z=-2.611, p=0.009(p≤0.05). It was noted that the children who had visited a dentist had a higher
caries experience with a dmft of 4.18±4.13 and DMFT of 1.16±1.92. However, the children who had never sought treatment at
a dental facility had lower dmft of 1.89±2.88; and DMFT of 0.36±1, and the differences were statistically significant with Mann
Whitney U, Z p=0.008(p≤0.05). The plaque scores and caries experience were high in children whose caregivers had low aggregate
utilisation of the oral health care facilities. However, those who had a low aggregate of oral hygiene practices had slightly higher
plaque scores and caries experience.
Keywords: Cardiac Disease; Children; Utilisation; Oral Health Services; Caregivers
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Study limitations|
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