Adult Dental Caries Experience: A Rural-Urban Comparison in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: Dental caries as a public health concern affects people’s productivity and quality of life. A number of studies exist on caries status of children in Nigeria but same cannot be said for adults. In addition, majority of the few available studies on caries experience of adults in Nigeria have been conducted in urban locations. If scarce resources are to be appropriated efficiently, a broader picture of the rural and urban caries trend is crucial. The objective of this study was was to assess and compare the caries prevalence and experience of the adult population in a rural and urban local government area of Lagos State as well as determine factors affecting the caries experience of adults in two contrasting populations.

Methods: A descriptive, comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 474 consenting adults aged 18-64 years in one rural and one urban local government area of Lagos State, in southwestern Nigeria. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee, Lagos University Teaching Hospital. Data was obtained using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was used in data analysis, whilst p values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant.

Results: The majority of the respondents in this study were within the age brackets of 20-39 years, with a mean age of 36.4±36.1Dental Caries prevalence was 15.4% and 19.5%, with a mean DMFT of 0.72 and 0.62 in the rural and urban populations respectively. Also, the index of treatment need was 50.4% and 61.1% and index of treatment failure was 60.6% and 48.1% for the rural and urban populations respectively.

Conclusion: There was no statistically significant difference in the dental caries experience between urban and rural populations. Notwithstanding the low caries experience, a lot of carious lesions remained untreated among rural and urban adult resident in Lagos. There is need for improved oral health promotion measures and preventive programs in rural and urban communities in Lagos State.