Dental caries status and trend in 5-, 7- and 12-year-old children from the Małopolskie region in comparison to the Polish population

Abstract

Introduction. In 2016, 5-, 7- and 12-year-old children from the Małopolskie region were included in the study of oral health as part of the Nationwide Monitoring of Oral Health programme, which has been periodically implemented in selected index groups of the Polish population since 1997. Aim. To evaluate the prevalence and level of dental caries in 5-, 7- and 12-year-old children from the Małopolskie region and to observe the dental caries trend in this region in recent years in relation to the Polish population. Material and methods. The study covered 673 children from the Małopolskie region, including 223 aged 5, 225 aged 7 and 225 aged 12 years. Dental condition/state of dentition was examined according to the WHO recommendations and criteria. The prevalence and level of dental caries in children from the Małopolskie region were evaluated and compared with the results of earlier studies from this province. The obtained results were also compared with the results for the entire Polish population from the current and previous nationwide monitoring studies. The studies were conducted upon the consent of the Medical University of Warsaw Ethics Committee no. KB 190/2016. Results. Dental caries prevalence in 5-, 7- and 12-year-old children from the Małopolskie region that were covered by the study was 74.9, 84.9 and 81.8%, respectively. The average values of dmft were 4.55 (in the age group of 5) and 5.38 (in the age group of 7), while DMFT for particular age groups was 0.03, 0.56 and 3.54, respectively. Slight decrease in the value of these indications of caries is noticed for 5- and 7-year-old children from the Małopolskie region (decrease in prevalence by 2.5 and 6.7%, respectively, as well as a fall in the value of dmft by 0.71 in the age group of 5, relative to 2011). The group of 12-year-old children from our region, as the only one from the entire Polish population of children of this age, have kept a downward trend of caries prevalence (a fall by 12.7% relative to the monitoring study from 2010). This reduction needs to be confirmed in the next monitoring studies. Conclusions. The presented results indicate stable high prevalence of dental caries in children of the Małopolskie region and in the whole country. It is therefore necessary to enhance actions intended to improve this situation through education of both children and their parents, widespread prophylaxis, and greater health-oriented awareness of patients.