ABSTRACT
Background: Dental caries is a common oral health problem in Bangladesh. The prevalence of these diseases is continuously increasing
with changes in dietary habits and increased consumption of sugar containing food. This study was conducted among factory workers to
estimate the prevalence of dental caries and to identify its associated factors.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 210 randomly selected workers of an apparel labeling solutions factory in 2019.
Data were collected by face-to face interview on sociodemographic factors, food habits and oral hygiene practices using a
semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software program.
Results: Of the respondents, 92% were male, 80% were 25-35 years old. Everyone was literate having education of SSC (42%), HSC
(44%). All the participants used to take cereals, 72% sweet and sugar containing food, 95% sweet drinks and 75% fast food. Nearly 84%
had dental caries, 57% had moderate to severe DMFT. Only 23% had good oral hygiene index (OHI) and 57% had bad breath. The DMFT
was found to be associated with habit of taking sweets & sugar containing food (p = 0.001) and fast food (p= 0.008), brushing frequency
(p<0.001) and bad breath (p<0.001).
Conclusions: A remarkable proportion of the workers were suffering from dental caries and more than half of them had moderate to
severe DMFT. The habit of consuming sweets and sugar containing food, fast food, low brushing frequency and bad breath were found
to be positively associated with dental caries.
Keywords: Dental caries, food habits, oral hygiene and DMFT.