RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To describe the oral health and treatment need of schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago. Design and method: Cross-sectional survey using stratified cluster sampling. Participants were children in primary (aged 6-8 years) and secondary school (aged 12 and 15 years). Main outcome measures were DMFT/dmft, treatment need, and fluorosis. RESULTS: Examinations were completed on 1064 children. The dmft of the 6-8-year-olds was 2·54 (95 per cent CI = 2·32, 2·76). For 12-year-olds, the DMFT was 0·61 (95 per cent CI = 0·51, 0·71), whereas for 15-year-olds, the DMFT was 1·06 (95per cent CI = 0·87, 1·25). Most of the caries experience in 6-8-year-olds was from decayed teeth. Sixty-seven per cent of the sample (95 per cent CI = 64 per cent, 69 per cent) had some type of treatment need. Most frequently occurring need was for fillings at 42 per cent (95 per cent CI = 40 per cent, 44 per cent) with 28 per cent (95 per cent CI = 26 per cent, 31 per cent) of the total sample needing two or more surface fillings, followed by fissure sealants at 33 per cent (95 per cent CI = 30 per cent, 36 per cent) and caries-arresting care at 12 per cent (95 per cent CI = 10 per cent, 14 per cent). Extraction of one or more teeth was needed in 13 per cent (95 per cent CI = 11 per cent, 15 per cent) of children. Rates of fluorosis were negligible. CONCLUSION: The caries experience of 12- and 15-year-old children were low but was high for schoolchildren aged 6-8 years, in terms of prevalence and severity. Effective oral health promotion strategies need to be implemented to improve the oral health of primary schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago.
