Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries

Misigo Dennis Mwala; Mwongera Moses Kimathi

doi:doi:10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries

Misigo Dennis Mwala, Mwongera Moses Kimathi

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 3, Issue 5)

Received: 13 August 2015 Accepted: 4 October 2015 Published: 19 October 2015

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Abstract

Background: The study was conducted at IL-polei in Laikipia North, Kenya. The study aimed at determining the susceptibility to dental caries and oral health status, targeting children and teenagers between the ages of 3-17 years old attending a medical camp in the month of September in 2014. The study was designed as a community based cross-sectional descriptive study where questionnaires were administered to children, the guardians and parents of the children attending the dental section of the medical camp. The clean and verified data was then entered into an Excel computer database and later transferred into SPSS for analysis. Results: A total of 256 children and teenagers were interviewed, medically examined and saliva samples were successful transported to microbiology lab in KeMU. As observed none had a routine visits to a dentist and the practices related to oral hygiene were not satisfactory. The prevalence of dental caries gradually increased with age and those who were highly susceptible to dental caries were teenagers older than 12 years of age (71.9%). Males had a clinically higher prevalence of caries (75%) than females. Also noted was that an ancient practice of using stick brushes is still the preferred method of choice for cleaning teeth (75.6%). The physical observation of decayed teeth was collaborated by the laboratory findings. Oral health personnel were absent in the rural clinics and dispensaries and hence played no major role (2.4%) in educating the community on dental hygiene. Conclusion: we need to strengthen community based dental care services for children and teenagers in IL-Polei and other rural centres with similar characteristics. The study has demonstrated that oral health problems are still predominant in the rural areas where dental services are neglected. In addition, medical camp organisers should also add onto their list of the services, items and activities that will encourage the implementation of good oral health practices because such activities can help in elimination of potential oral health issues before they become a problem and cause future suffering in children.

Published in	Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 3, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38
Page(s)	790-796
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Medical Camp, IL - Polei, Oral Health Status

References

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[17]	National Oral Health Policy and Strategic Plan 2002 - 2012 document, June 2000, Kenya.
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APA Style

Misigo Dennis Mwala, Mwongera Moses Kimathi. (2015). Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(5), 790-796. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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ACS Style

Misigo Dennis Mwala; Mwongera Moses Kimathi. Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries. Sci. J. Public Health 2015, 3(5), 790-796. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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AMA Style

Misigo Dennis Mwala, Mwongera Moses Kimathi. Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries. Sci J Public Health. 2015;3(5):790-796. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38,
  author = {Misigo Dennis Mwala and Mwongera Moses Kimathi},
  title = {Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries},
  journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {3},
  number = {5},
  pages = {790-796},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20150305.38},
  abstract = {Background: The study was conducted at IL-polei in Laikipia North, Kenya. The study aimed at determining the susceptibility to dental caries and oral health status, targeting children and teenagers between the ages of 3-17 years old attending a medical camp in the month of September in 2014. The study was designed as a community based cross-sectional descriptive study where questionnaires were administered to children, the guardians and parents of the children attending the dental section of the medical camp. The clean and verified data was then entered into an Excel computer database and later transferred into SPSS for analysis. Results: A total of 256 children and teenagers were interviewed, medically examined and saliva samples were successful transported to microbiology lab in KeMU. As observed none had a routine visits to a dentist and the practices related to oral hygiene were not satisfactory. The prevalence of dental caries gradually increased with age and those who were highly susceptible to dental caries were teenagers older than 12 years of age (71.9%). Males had a clinically higher prevalence of caries (75%) than females. Also noted was that an ancient practice of using stick brushes is still the preferred method of choice for cleaning teeth (75.6%). The physical observation of decayed teeth was collaborated by the laboratory findings. Oral health personnel were absent in the rural clinics and dispensaries and hence played no major role (2.4%) in educating the community on dental hygiene. Conclusion: we need to strengthen community based dental care services for children and teenagers in IL-Polei and other rural centres with similar characteristics. The study has demonstrated that oral health problems are still predominant in the rural areas where dental services are neglected. In addition, medical camp organisers should also add onto their list of the services, items and activities that will encourage the implementation of good oral health practices because such activities can help in elimination of potential oral health issues before they become a problem and cause future suffering in children.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries
AU - Misigo Dennis Mwala
AU - Mwongera Moses Kimathi
Y1 - 2015/10/19
PY - 2015
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38
DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38
T2 - Science Journal of Public Health
JF - Science Journal of Public Health
JO - Science Journal of Public Health
SP - 790
EP - 796
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-7950
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38
AB - Background: The study was conducted at IL-polei in Laikipia North, Kenya. The study aimed at determining the susceptibility to dental caries and oral health status, targeting children and teenagers between the ages of 3-17 years old attending a medical camp in the month of September in 2014. The study was designed as a community based cross-sectional descriptive study where questionnaires were administered to children, the guardians and parents of the children attending the dental section of the medical camp. The clean and verified data was then entered into an Excel computer database and later transferred into SPSS for analysis. Results: A total of 256 children and teenagers were interviewed, medically examined and saliva samples were successful transported to microbiology lab in KeMU. As observed none had a routine visits to a dentist and the practices related to oral hygiene were not satisfactory. The prevalence of dental caries gradually increased with age and those who were highly susceptible to dental caries were teenagers older than 12 years of age (71.9%). Males had a clinically higher prevalence of caries (75%) than females. Also noted was that an ancient practice of using stick brushes is still the preferred method of choice for cleaning teeth (75.6%). The physical observation of decayed teeth was collaborated by the laboratory findings. Oral health personnel were absent in the rural clinics and dispensaries and hence played no major role (2.4%) in educating the community on dental hygiene. Conclusion: we need to strengthen community based dental care services for children and teenagers in IL-Polei and other rural centres with similar characteristics. The study has demonstrated that oral health problems are still predominant in the rural areas where dental services are neglected. In addition, medical camp organisers should also add onto their list of the services, items and activities that will encourage the implementation of good oral health practices because such activities can help in elimination of potential oral health issues before they become a problem and cause future suffering in children.
VL - 3
IS - 5
ER -

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Author Information

Misigo Dennis Mwala

Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Kenya Methodist University, Meru, Kenya
Mwongera Moses Kimathi

Department of Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Community Health, Kenya Methodist University, Meru, Kenya

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APA Style

Misigo Dennis Mwala, Mwongera Moses Kimathi. (2015). Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries. Science Journal of Public Health, 3(5), 790-796. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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ACS Style

Misigo Dennis Mwala; Mwongera Moses Kimathi. Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries. Sci. J. Public Health 2015, 3(5), 790-796. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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AMA Style

Misigo Dennis Mwala, Mwongera Moses Kimathi. Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries. Sci J Public Health. 2015;3(5):790-796. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38

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@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38,
  author = {Misigo Dennis Mwala and Mwongera Moses Kimathi},
  title = {Importance of Free Medical Camps in Exposing Rural Communities' Dental Health Issues and Mitigating Morbidity Associated with Dental Caries},
  journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
  volume = {3},
  number = {5},
  pages = {790-796},
  doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20150305.38},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20150305.38},
  abstract = {Background: The study was conducted at IL-polei in Laikipia North, Kenya. The study aimed at determining the susceptibility to dental caries and oral health status, targeting children and teenagers between the ages of 3-17 years old attending a medical camp in the month of September in 2014. The study was designed as a community based cross-sectional descriptive study where questionnaires were administered to children, the guardians and parents of the children attending the dental section of the medical camp. The clean and verified data was then entered into an Excel computer database and later transferred into SPSS for analysis. Results: A total of 256 children and teenagers were interviewed, medically examined and saliva samples were successful transported to microbiology lab in KeMU. As observed none had a routine visits to a dentist and the practices related to oral hygiene were not satisfactory. The prevalence of dental caries gradually increased with age and those who were highly susceptible to dental caries were teenagers older than 12 years of age (71.9%). Males had a clinically higher prevalence of caries (75%) than females. Also noted was that an ancient practice of using stick brushes is still the preferred method of choice for cleaning teeth (75.6%). The physical observation of decayed teeth was collaborated by the laboratory findings. Oral health personnel were absent in the rural clinics and dispensaries and hence played no major role (2.4%) in educating the community on dental hygiene. Conclusion: we need to strengthen community based dental care services for children and teenagers in IL-Polei and other rural centres with similar characteristics. The study has demonstrated that oral health problems are still predominant in the rural areas where dental services are neglected. In addition, medical camp organisers should also add onto their list of the services, items and activities that will encourage the implementation of good oral health practices because such activities can help in elimination of potential oral health issues before they become a problem and cause future suffering in children.},
 year = {2015}
}

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