Abstract
BackgroundFew studies have investigated the prevalence of dental caries among school children in the past decades in Sudan rendering it difficult to understand the status and pattern of oral health.MethodsA school-based survey was conducted using stratified random cluster sampling in Khartoum state, Sudan. Data was collected through interviews and clinical examination by a single examiner. DMFT was measured according to WHO criteria. Gingival index (GI) of Loe & Silness and Plaque index (PI) of Silness & Loe were used.ResultsThe mean DMFT for 12-year-olds was found to be 0.42 with a significant caries index (SiC) of 1.4. Private school attendees had significantly higher DMFT (0.57) when compared to public school attendees (0.4). The untreated caries prevalence was 30.5%. In multivariate analysis caries experience (DMFT > 0) was found to be significantly and directly associated with socioeconomic status. The mean GI for the six index teeth was found to be 1.05 (CI 1.03 – 1.07) and the mean PI was 1.30 (CI 1.22 – 1.38).ConclusionThe prevalence of caries was found to be low. The school children with the higher socioeconomic status formed the high risk group.
Highlights
Few studies have investigated the prevalence of dental caries among school children in the past decades in Sudan rendering it difficult to understand the status and pattern of oral health
Test-retest reliability The questionnaire was reintroduced to a sample of 20 randomly selected 12-year-old school children
This study reported results that can be generalized to all 12-year-old school children residing in Khartoum state
Summary
Few studies have investigated the prevalence of dental caries among school children in the past decades in Sudan rendering it difficult to understand the status and pattern of oral health. Children less than 15-years of age are estimated to be 41.3% of the total inhabitants [1]. Dental caries is the most prevalent of the oral diseases with considerable variations in its occurrence between countries, regions within countries, areas within (page number not for citation purposes). A few studies investigated the prevalence of dental caries in the Sudan in the past two decades. Another study found that the DMFT rose to 3.2 in the total sample examined [4]. In 1993, Raadal et al found the mean dmft to be 1.68 in the preschool group and 2.77 in the school group. Through this study we intend to update the accumulating data worldwide in keeping with the international trend on the index age group of 12-yearolds
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