Sugary snacks consumption, caries experience and oral quality of life among urban primary school pupils in Tanga

Abstract

Abstract Background Snacking is the consumption of foods or drinks in between main meals. People snack when they are not hungry enough for a full meal or want to curb their hunger while they wait for a larger meal later on. People also snack as a form of entertainment even when they are not really hungry or snack because they skipped main meals for various reasons. Naturally people like to eat high fat, high salt and high-sugar foods. This is why snacks manufacturers have been producing snacks that are laden with fats, salt and sugars, excess of which is associated with the occurrence of dental caries and other diet related conditions. Objectives To determine caries experience and oral health related quality of life and factors associated with consumption of sugary snacks among urban school pupils in Tanga Methodology This cross-sectional study involved 584 (response rate: 96.3%) pupils aged between 10 years and 16years in four urban primary schools in Tanga. Data was collected between Augusts to September 2010. Data ware entered and analyzed using computer program SPSS version 13.0. Frequency distributions were done followed by; bivariate associations using chi-square and T- test to compare proportions and means respectively. Multivariate analysis was done by using multiple logistic regressions with OIDP as the outcome variable and independent variables included sugar moments, oral ulcers, teeth sensitivity, and demographic variables. Results The mean score for sugar moments was 1.93 with no differences by age or sex or caries experience. The most frequently consumed snack was fried cassava. Participants snacked mainly as a result of hunger and thirst. Eighty eight percent took tea or porridge while 58.6% eat fried cassava as a result of hunger. While 54.2% took juice due to thirst. About 28% of the participants had at least one oral impact on daily performance (OIDP). The prevalence of dental caries was 22.3% and the mean DMFT was 0.37; with no age or sex differences in caries experience. Multiple logistic regression revealed that the OIDP was significantly associated with toothache (OR: 1.91; CI: 1.53-2.37), teeth sensitivity (OR: 1.99; CI: 1.56-2.55) and oral ulcers (OR: 1.82; CI: 1.44-2.37). v Conclusion Sugary snacks consumption was low; the commonly consumed snacks were fried cassava and sugared juice with hunger being the major reason for snacking. The snacks were consumed because they were available within the school premises. The prevalence of Caries and oral impacts on daily performance were also low. Toothache, teeth sensitivity and oral ulcer predicted oral impacts on daily performance. Nevertheless there was no correlation between sugar moments and caries experience Recommendations Although sugary snacks consumption, caries experience and prevalence of oral impact on daily performance were low, school oral health education program should emphasize restriction of selling sugary snacks and encourage provision of school lunch to maintain the disease at low level. Further researches are needed to study the current relationship between sugar moments and caries experience incorporating other factors which may have influence in the formation of dental caries in Tanzania.