Non-Cochrane · aetiology · PM42579706
Oral hygiene practices and dental caries experience in Nigeria: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Aborisade Adetayo, Mohammed Ali Amina, Okolo Chizoba, et al. · PloS one · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0342631
Findings
Population People residing in Nigeria
11 findings
| Poor oral hygiene status | Good oral hygiene status | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Sensitivity analysis: excluding influential study (Onyejaka and Amobi 2016) | OR 1.76 [1.41, 2.18] GRADE not reported 9 studies · 7748 participants |
| Poor oral hygiene status | Good oral hygiene status | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Dentition: mixed | OR 1.58 [1.35, 1.84] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 5075 participants |
| Poor oral hygiene status | Good oral hygiene status | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Dentition: primary | OR 3.50 [0.67, 18.20] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 2631 participants |
| Poor oral hygiene status | Good oral hygiene status | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Dentition: permanent | OR 1.98 [0.02, 192.51] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 471 participants |
| Poor oral hygiene status | Good oral hygiene status | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria | OR 2.00 [1.36, 2.96] GRADE not reported 10 studies · 8177 participants |
| Tooth brushing at least twice daily | Tooth brushing once daily | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria | OR 0.01 [0.00, 0.01] GRADE not reported 14 studies · 6127 participants |
| Toothbrush (with toothpaste) | Other tooth cleaning devices (e.g., chewing stick, cotton wool) | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Sensitivity analysis: excluding one influential study | OR 0.81 [0.42, 1.54] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Toothbrush (with toothpaste) | Other tooth cleaning devices (e.g., chewing stick, cotton wool) | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Dentition: permanent (after excluding influential study) | OR 0.64 [0.26, 1.60] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Toothbrush (with toothpaste) | Other tooth cleaning devices (e.g., chewing stick, cotton wool) | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Dentition: primary (after excluding influential study) | OR 0.58 [0.34, 0.99] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Toothbrush (with toothpaste) | Other tooth cleaning devices (e.g., chewing stick, cotton wool) | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria · Dentition: mixed (after excluding influential study) | OR 1.92 [0.05, 75.12] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Toothbrush (with toothpaste) | Other tooth cleaning devices (e.g., chewing stick, cotton wool) | Presence of dental caries cross-sectional (single time point) · Nigeria; mostly Southern Nigeria | OR 1.02 [0.52, 2.00] GRADE not reported 8 studies · 3773 participants |
Included primary studies 31
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolawole 2019 Association between malocclusion, caries and oral hygiene in children 6 to 12 years old resident in suburban Nigeria. PMID:31775712 | 2019 | 2 other reviews | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Olatosi 2015 The prevalence of early childhood caries and its associated risk factors among preschool children referred to a tertiary care institution DOI:10.4103/1119-3077.156887 | 2015 | 2 other reviews | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Afolabi 2023 Viral carcinogenesis. PMID:4162023 | 1966 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Akinyamoju 2018 Dental caries and oral hygiene status: Survey of schoolchildren in rural communities, Southwest Nigeria DOI:10.4103/npmj.npmj_138_18 | 2018 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Folayan 2015 Prevalence, and early childhood caries risk indicators in preschool children in suburban Nigeria DOI:10.1186/s12903-015-0058-y | 2015 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Folayan 2015 Prevalence, and early childhood caries risk indicators in preschool children in suburban Nigeria. PMID:26123713 | 2015 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kolawole 2019 Association between malocclusion, caries and oral hygiene in children 6 to 12 years old resident in suburban Nigeria DOI:10.1186/s12903-019-0959-2 | 2019 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Okoye 2011 Prevalence of dental caries in a nigerian rural community: a preliminary local survey. PMID:23209974 | 2011 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Olabisi 2015 Prevalence of dental caries and oral hygiene status of a screened population in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. PMID:25767769 | 2015 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Olatosi 2015 The prevalence of early childhood caries and its associated risk factors among preschool children referred to a tertiary care institution. PMID:25966721 | 2015 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Onyejaka 2016 DOI:10.4034/pboci.2016.161.40 | NR | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Onyejaka 2021 Prevalence and Associated Factors of Dental Caries among Primary School Children in South-East Nigeria DOI:10.4103/njcp.njcp_633_20 | 2021 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Oyedele 2018 Impact of oral hygiene and socio-demographic factors on dental caries in a suburban population in Nigeria DOI:10.1007/s40368-018-0342-z | 2018 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Sowole 2007 Dental caries pattern and predisposing oral hygiene related factors in Nigerian preschool children. PMID:18076852 | 2007 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Abiola 2019 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ajayi 2014 Sociobehavioural risk factors of dental caries among selected adolescents in Ibadan, Nigeria DOI:10.1016/j.pdj.2014.01.001 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Akinyamoju 2018 Dental caries and oral hygiene status: Survey of schoolchildren in rural communities, Southwest Nigeria. PMID:30588945 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Arowolo 2020 Revascularization after posterior mandibular alveolar osteotomy. PMID:6162020 | 1981 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Disa 2019 PREDICTORS OF DENTAL CARIES AMONG ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS IN A DENTAL CLINIC IN NORTH-EASTERN NIGERIA DOI:10.32827/ijphcs.6.5.123 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Folayan 2021 (familial factors) Individual and familial factors associated with caries and gingivitis among adolescents resident in a semi-urban community in… PMID:33771136 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Folayan 2021 (sexual abuse) Associations between a history of sexual abuse and dental anxiety, caries experience and oral hygiene status among adolescents in… PMID:33874918 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Folayan 2021a Associations between a history of sexual abuse and dental anxiety, caries experience and oral hygiene status among adolescents in… DOI:10.1186/s12903-021-01562-8 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Folayan 2021b Individual and familial factors associated with caries and gingivitis among adolescents resident in a semi-urban community in… DOI:10.1186/s12903-021-01527-x | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Idowu 2021 Dental Caries Prevalence, Restorative Needs and Oral Hygiene Status in Adult Population DOI:10.4103/njbcs.njbcs_32_20 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Nwhator 2019 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Olatosi 2020 Disparities in Caries Experience and Socio-Behavioural Risk Indicators Among Private School Children in Lagos, Nigeria DOI:10.1590/pboci.2020.102 | 2020 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Onyejaka 2021 Prevalence and Associated Factors of Dental Caries among Primary School Children in South-East Nigeria. PMID:34531341 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Oyapero 2020 Association between dental caries, odontogenic infections, oral hygiene status and anthropometric measurements of children in Lagos, Nigeria DOI:10.20396/bjos.v19i0.8661431 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Oyedele 2018 Impact of oral hygiene and socio-demographic factors on dental caries in a suburban population in Nigeria. PMID:29761342 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Oyedele 2021 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Oyedele 2022 matched by author and year (probable) | NR | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Individuals residing in Nigeria | Nigerian children, adolescents and adults, ages 6 months to 64 years (n=15,797; 23 studies) |
| Intervention | Oral hygiene practices (tooth brushing frequency, tooth cleaning methods: toothbrush, chewing stick or other devices) and oral hygiene status as exposures | Oral hygiene status (OHI-S mainly; 10 studies pooled), brushing frequency (14 studies in forest plot), tooth cleaning device (8 studies) |
| Comparison | Variations in oral hygiene practices (brushing >=2 times/day vs once/day; good vs poor hygiene; toothbrush vs chewing stick) | Good vs poor oral hygiene; brushing once vs at least twice daily; toothbrush vs other devices |
| Outcomes | Presence of dental caries | Dental caries presence (DMFT/dmft); caries prevalence 2.2% to 79.1% |
| Study designs | Studies reporting prevalence data: cross-sectional, cohort, case-control; clinical trials with baseline prevalence data | 23 observational studies: 21 cross-sectional, 2 case-control; 20 in Southern Nigeria, 3 in Northern Nigeria |
| Timing | Studies conducted in Nigeria between January 2001 and December 2025 | Studies published 2007 to 2023 |