Evaluation of Oral and Dental Health among 12 Year-Old Students in Jolfa, East Azerbaijan

Background and Objectives: Twelve year-old is selected as the global indicator of age group to compare and monitor oral diseases at the international level. The aim of this study was to assess the state of oral health in the 12 year-old students to determine their needs and design oral health prevention programs in Jolfa. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was done on 146 students, with 12 years of age that were selected on a multistage cluster sampling method through the seven health centers which provided health services to schools in 2014 academic year in Jolfa city. Data were collected through interview and dental clinical examination using World Health Organization Oral Health Assessment Form for Children, 2013 questionnaire that consists of two parts: 1) demographic information and 2) the mouth status, including: dentition status, periodontal status, dental erosion, dental trauma, oral mucosa. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and applying descriptive statistics (Mean and Frequency), chi-square tests and logistic regression. Results: The mean of DMFT in the studied population was 4.30 ± 2.93 with 4.38 ± 2.26 for the boys and 4.21 ± 3.60 for the girls. According to the results, 92.5% of the students had at least one decayed tooth and 85.6% of those surveyed had at least one of the first permanent molar. Also, a significant association was observed between male gender and tooth decay (P value Conclusion: The results of this study showed poor oral health status in the students of Jolfa and needs to serious attention to community-based health programs in education and implementation of preventive dentistry.