RESUMO
BACKGROUND: To ascertain the condition of the oral hygiene of school children 6 and 12 years of age in Galicia and to assess the degree to which said condition meets the World Health Organization (WHO) oral hygiene objectives for the year 2000. METHODS: Observational cross-sectional study conducted in 1995 on a group of school children 6 and 12 years of age in Galicia selected by means of a multi-stage sampling by conglomerates, stratified by provinces and type of habitat. RESULTS: This study was conducted on 1,288 school age children, 643 in the 6-year-old group and 645 in the 12-year-old group. 46.7% of the 6 year-old children and 64.2% of the 12 year-olds were found to have cavities, which means an oc index of 1.84 and a AOC index of 1.60, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: A trend toward improvement in the oral hygiene of school-age children in Galicia has been found. The oral hygiene-related objectives recommended by the WHO for the year 2000 in the region of Europe have been accomplished, as a result of which further objectives are recommended.