Abstract
Dental caries remains a major public health problem, with a higher prevalence among in adolescence. The present study aimed to assess the dental caries spectrum profile in children and adolescents in Brazilian public schools. A cross-sectional study was performed in two public schools in Brazil to examine the permanent teeth of children and adolescents. The dental caries were assessed by applying the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) instrument, and the results were distributed as per disease status (healthy/codes 0-2; pre-morbidity/code 3; morbidity/code 4-5; severe morbidity/codes 6-7; mortality/code 8) and by severity as per the CAST-F1 formula (no severity, mild, moderate, and severe). The CAST data were described by age groups (8-9 y, 10-11 y, 12-13 y, 14-15 y, 16-17 y, and 18-19 y). The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to investigate differences in CAST prevalence and severity among the groups (p < 0.05). Total 598 students were enrolled. Most of the subjects were male (53.34%) and belonged to the age group of 12-13 y (34.95%). The variables CAST 0/1 (p = 0.024), CAST (p = 0.024), and CAST-F1 (p = 0.029) showed significant differences among age groups, and the post hoc test showed the differences in these variables as per the age groups of 14-15 y and 16-17 y (CAST 0/1, p = 0.047; CAST, p = 0.047; CAST-F1, p = 0.033). The dental caries spectrum increased from 8 to 19 y with a peak in the prevalence and severity in the middle of adolescence.
Highlights
Dental caries is a sugar-dependent disease; with an acidogenic bacterial biofilm as the etiology for dental hard tissue degeneration.[1]
In the Brazilian State of São Paulo, from 2002 to 2010, a decrease was recorded in the incidence of dental caries in children aged 12 y old and in adolescents; in the group with few caries, tooth loss decreased, while the untreated dental caries and the need for treatment increased.[13]
When the Caries Assessment Spectrum and Treatment (CAST) mean value, median, and the CAST components (0/1 to 8) values were compared among the age groups with the Kruskal–Wallis test, only the CAST and the CAST 0/1, CAST 3, and CAST 4 components presented a significant difference (Table 3)
Summary
Dental caries is a sugar-dependent disease; with an acidogenic bacterial biofilm as the etiology for dental hard tissue degeneration.[1]. Brazilian national oral health surveys have been officially observing dental caries in children and adolescents since 1986.9 The decline is evident in 12-year-old children and adolescents aged [15,16,17,18,19] y in these studies; there is a marked age increase in dental caries maintaining a proportion similar to 1:2 between children and adolescents (6.65:12.68–1986;9 2.78:6.17–2003;10 2.07:4.25–201011). Many variables might be considered as predictors of dental caries throughout the period of adolescence, such as female sex, increased sugar intake, poor oral health self-assessment, dental visits, and ageing.[12] In the previous Brazilian National Dental Survey[11] of 2010, living in cities with fluoridated tap water, low coverage of water supply, and residing in low-median income municipalities were considered as contextual determinants. Dental caries can be influenced by social determinants of health, and management strategies must include plans for prevention and assistance in absolute and relative ways; age plays an important role
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