Area to “Watch Out” for Dental Caries in Schoolchildren of Age 3–12 Years Based on Dental Health Diet Score – A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of dental caries among children of age 3–12 years based on the dental health diet score (DHDS). Settings and Design: Dental caries in children is evaluated using food score, nutrient score, and sweet score. Materials and Methods: A total of 2288 children were screened/examined, for the presence of dental caries using dmft/DMFT index, by randomly selecting 10 schools within a radius of 5 km. Informed written parental consent was obtained. A closed-ended questionnaire which included a diet chart was given 2 days before the examination. All children aged 3–12 years were included in the study. DHDS was calculated and compared with standard chart. All data obtained were tabulated and statistically analyzed using SPSS version 16 (IBM Corp.), with the P < 0.05 value considered statistically significant. Results: Dental health diet score values obtained from the present study shows that, 71.8% children were in badly need of diet counselling and diet modification, 13.7% of children were need to be educated and 15.5% of children were just need to be motivated. On comparing the DHDS score with the dental caries, the mean dmft/DMFT score of “not adequate and barely adequate” categories was 2.3 ± 1.8 and 2.4 ± 2.1, respectively. Their values were found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Area to “Watch-out” for dental caries in children – Malnutrition. Equal emphasis is needed in both avoidance of sugary foods and maintenance of proper nutrition in children.