Annals and Essences of Dentistry
Open Access

Abstract

Assessment of dental caries experience among 5-16 year old school going children of Mangalore, Karnataka, India: A cross-sectional study

Aparna M, Sreekumar S*, Thomas T and Hedge V

Background: Health in school children requires unique attention since they are the future goals in every country. Their disease prevalence and prevention should be updated for the betterment of the society.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 6198 children in different areas of Mangalore city in age group 5–16 years. The dental caries status was assessed by Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT)/dmft index using the World Health Organization criteria 1997. Collected data from each subject was statistically analyzed to know the prevalence of dental caries using two sample T test and Chi square test.

Results: The overall dental caries prevalence among school children were 63.5%. In males the entire decayed, filled and missed tooth was 63.9%, 7.05%, 7.02% and in females decayed, missed and filled tooth percentage was 63%, 6.02%, 6.13% respectively. The mean DMFT score among males and female’s population were 2.54 ± 2.84 and 2.50 ± 2.85 respectively. The highest caries prone group was between 5-7 years old (71.8%) and lowest was among 14-16 years old (56.71%).

Conclusion: The present study revealed that caries is more prevalent among preschool children compared to other school going age groups.

Published Date: 2018-11-25; Received Date: 2018-10-15