Impact of social and individual factors on dental caries prevention practices among police officers in Baghdad

Background/Aim: Dental caries prevention practices vary between populations and may be influenced by social and individual factors. This study aimed to assess the reported importance of these factors for preventive practices among police officers in Baghdad.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a purposive sample of 81 male police officers with clinically diagnosed dental caries. A structured checklist was developed from the literature and reviewed by an expert panel. Of 100 proposed items, 84 were approved, giving an overall approval rate of 84 %. Responses were summarised using descriptive percentages, gap analysis and relative importance calculations.Results: The reported relative importance was 54 % for individual factors and 46 % for social factors. The reported application rates were 86 % and 72 %, respectively, with corresponding gaps of 14 % and 28 %. Individual factors were ranked first and social factors second in the descriptive comparison.Conclusion: Individual factors had greater reported relative importance than social factors in this sample. Preventive care may benefit from consideration of both personal circumstances and social context, although these descriptive findings do not establish causal effects.