Oral Hygiene status in Roche district of Tanzania, East Africa

In the remote Burere, Nyambogo, and Roche villages of the Rorya district in Tanzania, East Africa, we examined the oral hygiene practices of villagers, accessibility to oral health resources, the prevalence of oral disease, and other factors related to oral health. We assessed villagers’ level of awareness and knowledge of effective tooth brushing practices, toothbrush maintenance and contamination, oral hygiene status based on the availability of oral care, as well as traditional beliefs and perceptions associated with oral health. Our purpose was to understand better villagers’ oral hygiene practices to assess the effect of oral health disease on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in our sample population. We also evaluated the oral health-related quality of life of persons impacted by sickle cell disease (SCD) and sickle cell trait (SCT).