Abstract:
— Dental caries is a major public health problem
associated with diet and nutrition affecting 60-90% of children
globally with the burden in both industrialized and less
industrialized countries undergoing nutrition transition. The
aim of this study was to assess the relation between the dietary
intake and nutritional status on dental caries prevalence of 5-
year-old school children in urban and rural areas of Uasin Gishu County. In this study, 382 five year old children and their
parents/caregivers were sampled from urban and rural schools
in Uasin-Gishu County to participate in the study. Dental caries
status was assessed based on the criteria proposed by WHO for
oral health surveys. Structured questionnaires was used to
gather information on demographic and socio-economic status.
A quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to collect
data on dietary intake. Dietary intake data was analyzed using
ENA for SMART computer programmes and the rest of the data
was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) Version 21 (2007). The prevalence of dental caries stood
at 39.3% with a mean dft of 1.55 and 60.7% being dental caries
free. Children met their nutrient requirements for protein,
vitamin C, calcium, and phosphorus, but did not meet the
requirements for energy, folate, vitamin A, and iron. Many
children from urban than rural areas consumed sweets/candies
at 33.5% and 15.3% respectively. Children from urban areas
(288) had the highest mean dft of 1.83±1.37 while those from
rural areas (154) had a mean dft score of 1.16±1.13. This was
significantly different (p<0.05). Overweight was higher in the
urban population compared to the rural population at 13.64%
and 8.96% respectively. The prevalence of underweight was
higher in rural areas at 10.7%, stunting at 14.6% and wasting
at 6.8%. There is inadequate intake of Energy, Vitamin A and
Iron in the diet consumed by the 5-year-old which might be
contributing to dental caries prevalence both in the urban and
rural areas of Uasin – Gishu County, Kenya. Children should be
fed on nutrient rich foods and cariogenic foods should be
consumed occasionally