Caries frequency in children with controlled diabetes.

Abstract

The frequency of caries was assessed in 33 diabetic children in whom the diabetes required insulin and dietary restriction and had been diagnosed before eruption of the permanent teeth. The frequency of caries and the number of erupted teeth were obtained from the dental records of the school dental service. Age- and sex-matched non-diabetic classmates served as controls. The mean number of DFS at the last dental examination of the diabetic children was 13.4, compared with 20.5 in the controls. The difference was largest in 12- to 14-year-old children, particularly in the premolar region, where the mean number of carious and filled surfaces in the diabetics was 2.6 compared with 5.9 in the controls. In all age groups, proximal carious lesions were less common in the diabetics than in the controls. No notable difference was found between the mean number of erupted teeth in the diabetics and that of the controls, except among the 12- to 14-year-old children. In that age group the diabetics had, on the average, 6.0 erupted premolars compared with 7.3 in the controls and 2.7 erupted permanent second molars compared with 3.5 in the controls. The results indicate that the dietary restriction observed by the diabetics had a favorable effect in promoting a lower caries frequency on all groups of teeth and on most tooth surfaces.