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*

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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