Oral health status and its associated factors

Oral health is an essential and integral part of overall health throughout human life. The mouth is the mirror that reflects humans health and well-being. Therefore the target of this study project was to determine the oral health status and its associated factors among the youth in Igembe sub-county Meru county. Stratified random sampling was used to select the study respondents. Data was collected through a questionnaire which was adopted from the WHO Oral Survey Handbook. Data was presented inform of tables charts frequencies and percentages. The response rate was 100%. The factors which had a significant association (P<0.001) with the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases included; age gender level of education income Health care insurance smoking alcoholism and Miraa chewing. After calculation of the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) it was revealed that majority 80% of the respondents have a poor oral health status.