Dietary Sugary Food Consumption, Toothbrushing, and Gender as Determinants of Dental Caries Among Primary and Secondary School Students in Hyderabad, Pakistan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Dental caries remains a major public health issue among school-aged children where high sugar intake is recognized as a key modifiable risk factor for this disease. Given the limited local evidence from Hyderabad, the purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between consumption of sugary foods/beverages and dental caries experience in primary and secondary government school students.
To examine the association between sugary food/beverage consumption and dental caries experience among school-going children of government setting in Hyderabad.

Material and Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June 2026 among 387 primary and secondary school students. Data were collected through an interview-based questionnaire, including sociodemographics, dietary habits and dental caries status assessed using the DMFT index.

Results:
Among the 387 participants, 62.5% were males and 37.5% females. Most participants were aged 12–14 years (n=169, 43.7%). Regarding sugary intake, 35.7% reported daily consumption of sweets/chocolates, while 40.6% always consumed sugary snacks between meals. Chi-square analysis showed a statistically significant association between gender and dental caries (p = 0.019) with higher prevalence in males. A significant association was also observed between frequency of sweets/chocolate consumption and dental caries (p = 0.028). However, no significant association was found between between-meal snacking and dental caries (p = 0.162).

Conclusion:
This study found that sugary foods and beverage consumption is significantly associated with presence of dental caries among school-going children. This highlights the need for targeted dietary counseling and strengthened preventive oral health interventions in government school settings.

Clinical application: Routine dental assessments in school settings should incorporate brief dietary and oral-hygiene screening to identify students at increased risk of dental caries and facilitate targeted preventive counselling, timely referral, and follow-up care.