{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T20:56:12Z","timestamp":1789678572866,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,25]],"date-time":"2023-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1692921600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: There are no data on oral health in the population of Burundi. This study aimed to describe the oral health status of schoolchildren in Burundi using the dmft\/DMFT index for the first time. Materials and methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional population-based epidemiological survey. The survey was designed according to the WHO methodology for oral health surveys. Oral examinations were conducted in school rooms using a dental mirror, probe, and headlight. The following characteristics of primary dentition status were recorded: decayed (d\/D), missing (m\/M), and filled (f\/F) teeth, and the dmft\/DMFT (d + m + f t\/D + M + F T) index was calculated for each subject. Quantitative and qualitative variables were represented by measures of position and variability. One-way ANOVA was used to assess differences between parametric variables. Logistic regression was performed for total caries experience and gender, age groups, living area, and geographical provinces. Results: A total of 1902 children were examined, 1007 (52.94%) six-year-olds and 895 (47.06%) in the older group. The dmft\/DMFT and subgroups were statistically significantly different in terms of age groups, living areas, and geographical regions (dmft\/DMFT d-subgroup and D-subgroup p &lt; 0.01), but only for DMFT for sex. The ORs estimated by logistic regression by total caries experience showed a protective effect for 12 year old subjects and those living in southern provinces, an OR of 0.52 (95%CI 0.43\u20130.64) and an OR of 0.26 (95%CI 0.21\u20130.32), respectively. Conclusions: Dental caries in African countries, including Burundi, remains a major problem affecting the general health and wellbeing of the population. Tackling untreated caries requires a multifaceted approach, including strengthening oral health infrastructure, promoting oral health education, providing affordable dental services, and encouraging healthier eating habits.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina59091538","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,25]],"date-time":"2023-08-25T08:25:33Z","timestamp":1692951933000},"page":"1538","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Oral Health Survey in Burundi; Evaluation of the Caries Experience in Schoolchildren Using the DMFT Index"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"59","author":[{"given":"Demetrio","family":"Lamloum","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Restorative, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4901-2067","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Dettori","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Restorative, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-8876-2943","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pino","family":"La Corte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Solidariet\u00e0 Medico Odontoiatrica nel Mondo (SMOM) ODV, 20143 Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Ruth","family":"Agnoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Dentistry, Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio, 28691 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea","family":"Cappai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, University of Sassari, 07041 Alghero, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Arianna","family":"Viarchi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Section of Odontostomatologic Surgery, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9257-1422","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonella","family":"Arghittu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4044-1893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas Gerhard","family":"Wolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Restorative, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Periodontology and Operative Dentistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, D-55131 Mainz, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0972-4828","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paolo","family":"Castiglia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8573-485X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Guglielmo","family":"Campus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Restorative, Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland"},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Cariology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai 600077, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,8,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.4103\/0976-9668.107257","article-title":"Early Childhood Caries Update: A Review of Causes, Diagnoses, and Treatments","volume":"4","author":"Dalli","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. 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