Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the dental caries experience and clinical consequences of untreated dental caries (UDC) among primary school children of Al Jouf region, Saudi Arabia and to determine the correlation between dental caries experience and clinical consequences of UDC. Material and Methods: A 250 primary school children 6-7 years were recruited using systematic random sampling. The prevalence of dental caries in deciduous dentition was assessed by following WHO criteria using the dmft index and the clinical consequence of UDC was assessed with the pufa index. The pufa score was calculated cumulatively following the pufa diagnostic criteria. The Student’s t-test was used to equate the mean dmft and pufa scores between boys and girls. The correlation between the dmft and the pufa scores was evaluated using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r), and the p-value was set at 0.05 for statistical significance. Results: Out of which 154 (61.60%) boys and 94 (37.60%) were girls. The mean (SD) values of dmft for boys reported to be 5.37 (± 3.31) and for girls 6.35 (± 3.27), which was statistically significant with gender (p<0.001). Statistically, significant mean values of pufa were 1.20 (± 1.37) in boys and 1.71 (± 1.58) in girls, respectively was observed (p<0.001). The Pearson correlation between dmft and pufa values showed a highly significant positive correlation among dmft and pufa values (r= 0.635, p<0.001). Conclusion: The present study revealed that high caries prevalence and experience of the clinical consequences of UDC in the primary dentition, and there was a strong positive correlation between dmft and pufa score values.
Highlights
Dental caries still remains a worldwide oral health problem, in children [1]
The prevalence of dental caries in deciduous dentition was assessed by following WHO criteria using the dmft index and the clinical consequence of untreated dental caries (UDC) was assessed with the pufa index
The present study revealed that high caries prevalence and experience of the clinical consequences of UDC in the primary dentition, and there was a strong positive correlation between dmft and pufa score values
Summary
Dental caries still remains a worldwide oral health problem, in children [1]. A drawback of this index is that it fails to record the untreated carious lesions (UDC) and its clinical consequences such as pulpal involvement, dental abscess, fistula, etc. It does not reflect the treatment needs of a population at the individual and community level. A pufa/PUFA index has been developed to determine the severity of UDC, and various stages of clinical consequences resulted from UDC [3]. This index can be used with dmft/DMFT index to estimate the clinical consequences of UDC among the population [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Pesquisa Brasileira em Odontopediatria e Clínica Integrada
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
