Caries increment in Bosnian women associated with caries risk factors according to the Cariogram during pregnancy. A four-year longitudinal study.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine dental caries increment in women after four years associated with caries risk factors according to the Cariogram during pregnancy. Study design: The study population consisted of 96 pregnant women between 20 and 42 years of age at the start of the study. After four years, 80 women (83.33% recall rate) were re-examined by the baseline examiner using the same procedure employed at baseline. Caries prevalence was registered according to the WHO criteria and presented by the Decayed Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index. Saliva tests were carried out according to instructions of the manufacturer. Nine factors/variables were entered into the Cariogram to obtain an individual caries risk profile. The chance of avoiding caries was scored into the five Cariogram risk categories. The results suggest that the dental caries increment in women after four years is significantly associated with caries risk factors according to the Cariogram during pregnancy.