Abstract
Introduction:The pattern of development of carious lesions has changed. The carious lesion has been progressive and reaches the dentin without showing alterations in the clinical aspects.Objectives:To determine the prevalence of caries in 12-year-old students in the city of Franca – São Paulo, Brazil, during the year of 2003, and to evaluate the additional value of bitewing radiograph to detect hidden carious lesions in permanent molar dentin.Materials and Methods:A probabilistic sample composed of two hundred and fifty six (256) students, from public and private schools, was submitted to a cross-sectional study through examination by a calibrated examiner, in order to detect the caries prevalence, using the methodology recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). For 66% of the sample, bitewing radiographs of the permanent molar region were obtained. The images were analyzed by a calibrated examiner, who established the presence of hidden caries in teeth with radiolucency in dentin, yet considered healthy in the epidemiological survey.Results:The prevalence of dental caries in epidemiological exam without (WHO) and with (WHO/R) the inclusion of hidden caries lesion was 54% and 64%, and the DMFT index was 1.73 and 1.92 respectively.Conclusion:Utilization of the method of bitewing radiographic diagnosis significantly increased (p<0.001) the prevalence of caries in the studied population.
Highlights
The pattern of development of carious lesions has changed
According to Weerheijm, et al.[22] (1990) an available method for diagnosis of these lesions are bitewing radiographs, which are not commonly used in epidemiological surveys conducted according to the criteria of the World Health Organization[28] (WHO)
The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of caries in 12-year-old students in the city of Franca – São Paulo, Brazil, in 2003, and evaluate the additional value of the bitewing radiograph in order to detect hidden caries lesions in permanent molar dentin in the prevalence of caries in this population
Summary
The pattern of development of carious lesions has changed. The carious lesion has been progressive and reaches the dentin without showing alterations in the clinical aspects. The progression of carious lesions was fast and precocious presenting cavity This happened due to its fast progress in dentin, leading to collapse of the enamel walls; lesions were detected by clinical method. The progression is slow and can be developed under the enamel; it grows and reaches the dentin without showing alterations in the clinical aspects[26]. This type of evolution of the disease has been explained by the topic action of fluoride methods[6,11,17,21,22] which maintain the dental surface healthy and relatively well mineralized. The authors consider that these types of caries are active lesions, and it would be worthy to consider this criterion
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