The Oral Health Promotion Activities for Mongolian Children and their Parents in Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Background: We conducted oral health promotion activities for Mongolian children and their parents in Ulan Bator, named the Happy Tooth Project (HTP), in the summers of 2016 and 2017. The HTP activities began with the goal of reducing the mortality caused by caries in children in Mongolia. The facilitators of the HTP consisted mainly of dentists and dental hygienists. In addition, the HTP activities were implemented with the cooperation of Japanese and Mongolian students and volunteers. To achieve appropriate and sustainable support for oral health promotion in Mongolia, we investigated the prevalence of dental caries in Mongolian children through this project.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 641 children under the age of 18 years living in Ulan Bator and its suburbs. Oral examination was performed by the dentists. Questionnaire survey on lifestyle related to caries’ risk factors was also performed with their caregivers.

Results: Children without caries comprised only 3.4% of the sample.In 255 children aged 5 years old or younger, 94.5% were classified as having early childhood caries (ECC). Among 379 children with permanent teeth, 71.8% had caries-affected molars.

Conclusions：The prevalence of ECC in Mongolian children was remarkably high. To acquire dental knowledge and skills, the dental educational activities for prevention of caries among the Mongolian children and their parents are urgently needed.