Abstract

ABSTRACTBackground and objective: Dental caries is an important public health problem. It is widelydistributed globally affecting two thirds of children and young adults. Several risk factorshave been incriminated in the etiology.The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and risk factors of dental cariesamong secondary school students.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted by selecting a random sample of 400secondary school students from Zakho city, to estimate the risk factors and the prevalence bydental caries index (Decayed, Missed, Filled, Surfaces) DMFS.Results: The study showed that the prevalence of dental caries was 92.5% with a mean cariesindex of 7.47 which was significantly higher in females (8.31) than males (6.65). Significantassociation was observed between sugar intake and high caries rates for both genders. Nosignificant associations were detected with other suspected risk factors.Conclusion: Secondary school students in Zakho city experienced a high prevalence ofdental caries. The mean caries index was significantly higher in females in comparison tomales; and significantly associated with sugar consumption

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The article was added to IASJ on 2019-04-11

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