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. 2017 Nov 28;17(1):136.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-017-0426-x.

Dental caries experience and determinants in young adults of the Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, North-West Russia: a cross-sectional study

Sergei N Drachev  1   2 , Tormod Brenn  3 , Tordis A Trovik  3
Affiliations

Dental caries experience and determinants in young adults of the Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, North-West Russia: a cross-sectional study

Sergei N Drachev et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: Little information exists about the experience of and risk factors for dental caries in young adults in Russia. We investigated dental caries experience and determinants in medical and dental students in North-West Russia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 442 medical and 309 dental undergraduate students of Russian nationality aged 18-25 years from the Northern State Medical University, Arkhangelsk, Russia. Information on socio-demographic factors and oral health behaviour (regularity of dental visits, frequency of tooth-brushing, using toothpaste with fluoride, and skipping tooth-brushing) was obtained from a structured, self-administered questionnaire. Dental caries experience was based on the decayed (D) missing (M) filled (F) teeth (T) index and the Significant Caries (SiC) index, which were assessed through dental examination. Students with a DMFT index ≥9 were placed in the SiC group. Negative binomial hurdle and multivariable binary logistic regressions were used for statistical analyses.

Results: The prevalence of dental caries (DMFT >0) was 96.0%, overall mean DMFT index was 7.58 (DT: 0.61, MT: 0.12, and FT: 6.84), and the corresponding SiC index was 12.50. Age 21-25 years (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.18), being a female (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI: 1.01-1.20), high subjective socioeconomic status (SES) [IRR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.02-1.21], and skipping tooth-brushing (IRR = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.00-1.19) were associated with a higher DMFT index. DMFT index also increased among students who reported regular dental visits (IRR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.10-1.36), but their odds of being in the dental caries-free group decreased (odds ratio [OR] = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18-0.82). Significant predictors of being categorised to the SiC group were older age (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.03-1.92), high subjective SES (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.13-2.19), and regular dental visits (OR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.56-3.51).

Conclusions: A high prevalence of dental caries and high DMFT index, with a dominance of FT, were observed in our Russian medical and dental students. Age, sex, subjective SES, regular dental visits, and skipping tooth-brushing were determinants of dental caries experience.

Keywords: DMFT; Medical and dental students; North-West Russia; Young adults.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Regional Ethical Committee of Norway (2015/1788/REK nord) and the Ethical Committee of the NSMU, Russia (№ 05/10–15 from 19.10.2015). Verbal and written informed consent was obtained from every participant at Stage 1. For those willing and interested to participate in the study, the main researcher also gave assurance of confidentiality of the obtained information and stressed that the participant could withdraw from the study at any time.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart of the study participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Histogram of the Decayed Missing Filled Teeth (DMFT index) in the overall study sample (n = 751) and in the Significant Caries (SiC) group (n = 283)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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