Prevalence and severity of dental caries in Costa Rican schoolchildren: results of the 1999 National Survey

Abstract

In 1987, Costa Rica implemented a comprehensive national salt fluoridation programme using sodium fluoride (225-275mg F/kg salt). To describe dental caries prevalence and severity in Costa Rican children in 1999. Eight calibrated examiners (inter-examiner Kappa = 0.70 or higher) recorded information on dental caries, treatment needs, enamel fluorosis, and dentofacial anomalies for schoolchildren aged 6-8,12, and 15-years (N=3758). The survey utilised a multistrata probability sample with fixed allocation to represent seven regions of the country. The overall mean dmft for age 6-8 years was 3.32. The DMFT for age 12 was 2.46 and for age 15 was 4.37. Regional differences were observed; for example, the DMFT at age 12 years ranged from 1.93 to 3.86. Compared with pre-fluoridation data collected in 1984, schoolchildren aged 12 years, experienced a 28 per cent decrease in caries prevalence (100 per cent to 72 per cent) and a 73 per cent decrease in severity (DMFT from 9.13 to 2.46, representing an 8.3 per cent compound annual per cent reduction). Between 1984 and 1999, Costa Rican schoolchildren experienced substantial reductions in caries prevalence and severity. Many factors may be involved in this decline, but the most important appears to be exposure to fluoridated salt.