Prevalence of most caries-susceptible area on individual primary tooth surface: an observational study.

Due to multifactorial aetiology, tooth surfaces of primary dentition are more prone to dental caries and follow the specific pattern of dental caries which is difficult to control. The proper knowledge of caries-susceptible areas on individual primary teeth surfaces guides the clinician to take early preventive measures to stop the progression of dental caries. This study aims to find the prevalence of caries-susceptible areas on primary teeth surfaces in preschool children and the most commonly affected primary teeth. The study design adopted was a cross-sectional study. A total number of 3720 teeth of 186 preschool children were examined for initial pinpoint caries lesions using World Health Organization (WHO) caries detection criteria. 33 caries-susceptible areas were examined on individual primary tooth surfaces of preschool children who visited the Faculty of Dental Sciences. Each tooth surface was recorded separately and no radiographic examination was done. Obtained data was analysed keeping the level of significance at 5%. The overall prevalence of caries-susceptible area was found significantly higher in the maxillary teeth (Maxillary teeth: 41.7% vs. Mandible teeth: 30.7%; p < 0.001) and anterior teeth (Anterior teeth: 43.7% vs. Posterior teeth: 28.4%; p < 0.001). The prevalence of caries-susceptible area on primary teeth on the right side when compared to left counterparts was similar (Right side-38.6% and left side-38.4%; p = 0.931). Area 2 was the most prevalent area on primary teeth surfaces and primary canine was more prevalent in caries-susceptible areas.

Korean National Oral Health Survey Data on the Symmetry of Primary Dentition Surface Caries.

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the intraoral symmetry of dental caries in primary teeth as part of a study of caries patterns in primary dentition. STUDY DESIGN: The data for 4,800 5-year-old and 4,379 8-year-old children in this study were from the 2012 Korean national oral health survey. Pearson correlation coefficients of the decayed and filled surface (dfs) values ranged from 0.436 (lower primary canines) to 0.835 (upper primary central incisors) for the right and left primary teeth and from 0.084 (right primary central incisor) to 0.457 (left primary second molar) for the upper and lower primary dentition (P< 0.01). RESULTS: The upper and lower dfs values differed significantly (P< 0.05) when the right and left primary second molars were excluded. The left or right primary data without caries ranged from 56.4% (lower of first and second primary molars) to 99.7% (lower primary central incisors). The bilateral caries among cases with one or more in the right or left primary teeth ranged from 25.0% (lower lateral primary incisor) to 72.7% (upper primary central incisors). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that dental caries in primary teeth show bilateral symmetry and differences in the degree of symmetry according to the teeth set or surface set of the homologous teeth.

Pattern of dental caries in 3-6-year-old children using decayed, missing, filled surface index and hierarchical caries pattern system: A descriptive study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The dental caries status of a population group with permanent dentition is traditionally described using decayed, missing, and filled teeth or surface (DMFT or DMFS) index, and the corresponding index for the primary dentition is dmft or dmfs. dmf value alone has certain limitations; therefore, additional measures to describe dental caries are important. Poulsen and Horowitz in 1997 described a hierarchical method to determine the severity of dental caries. AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to determine the pattern of dental caries in 3-6-year-old children using Poulsen and Horowitz hierarchical system and to assess the usefulness of this system. METHODOLOGY: Data were collected from 500, 3-6-year-old children. Dmfs was recorded according to World Health Organization criteria 2013. On the basis of the caries recordings, the dmfs score of each child was calculated and each child was assigned to one of the six zones of increasing caries severity, ranging from 0 (caries free) to 5 (most severe). STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using Student's t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The overall mean dmfs for the study population was 9.10. The distribution of children according to the severity zones of Poulsen and Horowitz indicates a very low percentage (17.8%) of caries-free children and also a high percentage of children with caries in severity zone 2 (33.4%) and 4 (18.6%). CONCLUSION: The Poulsen and Horowitz model gives broader aspect for the assessment of severity of dental caries in 3-6-year-old children.

Evaluation of Dental Caries Among Preschool Children in Kathmandu-Using Significant Caries Index.

INTRODUCTION: Dental caries among preschool children is common but there is scarcity of updated data about its prevalence among Nepalese preschool children. This study was conducted to evaluate prevalence, Significant Caries Index, Caries pattern, Restorative care index and Disparity ratio among preschool children of Kathmandu aged 3-6 years. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted on 17 preschools of Kathmandu following WHO criteria. Data were analysed using SPSS 20 and descriptive statistics was applied. RESULTS: Prevalence of dental caries was 803 (55.6%) with a mean deft of 3.28±3.581 and Significant Caries Index score was 7.439. Caries pattern showed the most commonly decayed teeth were mandibular second molars followed by maxillary central incisors. The least affected teeth were mandibular lateral incisors. The restorative care index was 106 (7.32%) in the total sample size and 14 (2.86%) in the SiC and disparity ratio was 2.26. CONCLUSIONS: The SiC Index indicated high dental caries prevalence; severity rates and restorative care index indicated little experience of restorative treatment in preschool children of Kathmandu identifying the need for more targeted efforts to reach preschool children early to effectively address unmet oral health needs.

Dental caries pattern in primary dentition among Korean children / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze the dental caries pattern in primary dentition of Korean children aged 2-5 years old. METHODS: The dental caries pattern in primary dentition was analyzed using data from the Korea National Oral Health Survey, 2006. Subjects for this study were 582 children aged 2-5 years old. Statistical analysis was conducted with frequency analysis, correlation analysis, cluster analysis, and multiple correspondence analysis. RESULTS: The tooth with highest prevalence of caries experience at 5 years old was the tooth 85 and the tooth 75 was followed. When dentition was divided on the basis of quadrants, the correlation of caries occurrence was more related to the relationship between the left and right teeth rather than the upper and lower teeth. In particular, the correlation of left and right caries occurrence was high in the mandible. In order to analyze the dental caries pattern under the age of 5 years, we divided the teeth into four clusters, i.e., deciduous incisors, first deciduous molars, mandibular second deciduous molars, and maxillary second deciduous molars. In children aged 2 and 3 years, severe early childhood caries pattern (ECC pattern) was observed. If it was divided into two clusters at age 4, the pattern was visible in which teeth were divided into anterior and posterior caries. Our multiple correspondence analysis results did not perfectly match those of the cluster analysis, but it was helpful to visually identify the teeth showing a similar caries pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the dental caries pattern in primary dentition was age dependent. Information on caries pattern in primary dentition by each tooth can be useful for study on caries in primary dentition and clinical care.