Tooth decay main dental issue among children in Qatar

A study conducted by Al Wakra Hospital’s Prosthodontics Consultant Dr Mohamed Sultan Al Darwish, has found that dental caries (tooth decay or cavity) is the leading oral health issue affecting children in Qatar.

A total of 2,113 students in 12 government and four private schools, divided equally between boys and girls schools, were surveyed, finding that about 85 percent of students had some form of tooth decay.

Dr Darwish, who received a PhD from the University of Gloucestershire in the UK for his research, enlisted the help of four dentists and six trained data entry dental assistants to support him on this project. The results of the study have been published in a number of international journals.

Dental caries (DC) is a multi-factorial infectious disease caused by plaque bacteria, which then diffuse into hard dental tissues, dissolving their mineral contents, according to Dr Al Darwish.

“The three essential factors for dental caries are dental plaque, which can contain harmful bacteria, carbohydrates in the diet, and susceptible teeth,” he explained, adding that tooth decay is commonly measured by a value, which is the sum of the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT Index).

Over 44 percent of children in Qatar had instances of teeth crowding and 9.5 percent had spacing issues, which means over half of schoolchildren in Qatar need orthodontic therapy.

Read more at The Peninsula | Photo by Shahir Aboobacker