Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Oct 20;19(20):13584.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192013584.

Oral Health Needs and Barriers among Children in Saudi Arabia

Heba Jafar Sabbagh  1 , Sarah Abdullah Aljehani  2 , Bayan Mohammed Abdulaziz  2 , Nada Zafer Alshehri  2 , Maryam Omar Bajkhaif  2 , Shatha Khalid Alrosini  2 , Reham Mohammed Al-Amoudi  3 , Heba Mohamed Elkhodary  1   4
Affiliations

Oral Health Needs and Barriers among Children in Saudi Arabia

Heba Jafar Sabbagh et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Understanding oral health needs and barriers is important to overcome the oral disease burden, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to assess oral health needs and barriers among Saudi children after the COVID-19 pandemic wave started. (2) Methods: Parents of healthy children aged 3-11 years from five regions of Saudi Arabia were surveyed using an electronically administered validated questionnaire from Febuary-2021 to July-2021. Oral lesions/manifestations during the last 12 months reported by parents included tooth discoloration, ulcers, abscess, swelling of the gingiva, halitosis, gingival bleeding, dry mouth, pain while eating, difficulty in speaking or eating, burning sensation, and white spots. Barriers were assessed according to the WHO Oral Health Questionnaire. (3) Results: Children experiencing toothaches were reported by 1098 (72.4%) respondents. When reported, oral manifestations and lesions were associated with a higher inability to visit a dentist (p < 0.001). Barriers to dental care were more frequent among parents with lower education (p < 0.001; adjusted-odds ratio (AOR), 1.815) and a greater number of children (p < 0.001; AOR, 1.197). (4) Conclusion: Parents reported a high frequency of unmet oral health needs. Education could play an important role in improving oral health care in children and as a predictor of public health concerns.

Keywords: Saudi Arabia; accessibility; children; oral health barriers; oral health needs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

    1. Farooqi F.A., Khabeer A., Moheet I., Khan S.Q., Farooq I., ArRejaie A.S. Prevalence of dental caries in primary and permanent teeth and its relation with tooth brushing habits among schoolchildren in Eastern Saudi Arabia. Saudi Med. J. 2015;36:737–742. doi: 10.15537/smj.2015.6.10888. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pandey P., Nandkeoliar T., Tikku A.P., Singh D., Singh M.K. Prevalence of Dental Caries in the Indian Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J. Int. Soc. Prev. Community Dent. 2021;11:256–265. doi: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_42_21. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Van Chuyen N., Van Du V., Van Ba N., Long D.D., Son H.A. The prevalence of dental caries and associated factors among secondary school children in rural highland Vietnam. BMC Oral Health. 2021;21:349. doi: 10.1186/s12903-021-01704-y. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chauhan V.S., Chauhan R.S., Devkar N., Vibhute A., More S. Gingival and Periodontal Diseases in Children and Adolescents. J. Dent. Allied Sci. 2012;1:26–29. doi: 10.4103/2277-4696.159114. - DOI
    1. El Tantawi M., Sabbagh H.J., Alkhateeb N.A., Quritum M., Abourdan J., Qureshi N., Qureshi S., Hamoud A., Mahmoud N., Odeh R., et al. Oral manifestations in young adults infected with COVID-19 and impact of smoking: A multi-country cross-sectional study. PeerJ. 2022;10:e13555. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13555. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types