Oral diseases and problems, and oral impacts on daily performances among adolescents living in Maasai populated areas in Tanzania

Background: The study aimed to assess prevalence/frequency and socio-behavioral distribution of oral diseases/problems and their oral quality of life consequences according to Maasai and non-Maasai ethnic groups. Methods: All adolescents in the selected classes from 23 randomly selected schools were invited to participate in an interview and clinical oral examination. Results: The observed prevalence in percentage of different oral diseases/problems among adolescents was 65.6, 40.9, 8.8, 48.6, 1.9, 16.5 and 11.8 for poor oral hygiene, gingival bleeding, dental caries (DMFT>0), severe dental fluorosis (TF grade 5-9), dental erosion into dentin, tooth wear into dentin and Temporomandibular disorder (TMD), respectively. The prevalence of Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP>0) was (15.8%). From multiple variable analyses, adolescents from Longido and girls were more likely to present good oral hygiene (p0 (p0, but non-Maasai, those with DMFT>0 and 2Q/TMD>0 were more likely to report OIDP>0 (p