To assess the frequency of
consumption of cariogenic foods, oral hygiene practices and
dental health knowledge among Saudi male primary school
children in relation to socio-demographics and to find
the possible predictors for dental caries among them. Subjects
and methods: The cross-sectional descriptive study included
1115 Saudi male selected by multistage random sample from
18 public primary schools. Subjects were interviewed by
closed ended questionnaire gathering data regarding
frequency consumption of some cariogenic foods, oral hygiene
practices and dental health knowledge. Students were
submitted to dental screening to detect the clinically evident
caries lesion. Results: The clinically decayed tooth was
diagnosed in 68.9% of the included children, more in urban
and younger students. Caries affected the subjects consumed
cariogenic foods at greater frequency compared with cariesfree
children. Only 24.5% of the students brushing their teeth
twice or more per day, and 29% of them never received
instructions regarding oral hygiene practices. Miswak as an
alternative and ⁄ or additional method of dental cleaning was
used by 44.6%. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed
that maternal working conditions, large family size and poor
oral hygiene practices were the chief predictors for dental
caries among the included school children. Conclusion: The
poor oral hygiene practices, lack of parental guidance and
appropriate dental health knowledge with frequent exposure to
cariogenic foods in addition to socio-demographics are the main
risk factors for dental decay among the surveyed students.