Abstract
Aims: To evaluate the prevalence of dental caries in Humaidat village (which is located at Tigris river about 25 Km to the Northern West from Mosul City), to determine the level of dental health attitude and behaviors and to compare the results with the previous study that carried out in the same village before 10 years. Materials and Methods: The size of the sample was 213 individuals, 105 males and 108 females. Their ages were ranged between 10–60 years. Clinical dental examination was carried out using decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) index for the permanent teeth. Questionnaires were used to assess the level of dental health attitude and behaviours among the individuals. Results: Most of the individuals have poor awareness about their oral health. They were not used to brush their teeth regularly; they eat large amount of sweets at different times of the day and a large percent of them had no willingness to seek for dental treatment. Clinical dental examination indicated the high caries prevalence among the individuals, which increased by increasing age, and most of the cases were treated by extraction. Conclusion: The oral and dental health status in the rural areas is far from good and needs to be reevaluated.
