The incidence of dental caries and gingivitis in school-aged children

Abstract

Frequent occurrence of dental caries and periodontal diseases, especially gingivitis, in school-aged children, is becoming one of the most important problems in oral pathology, although they all can be brought under control through health education and implementation of preventive and prophylactic measures. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of dental caries and gingivitis in children, aged 12 years, attending primary schools in Kosovska Mitrovica, as an urban area, and schools in Gracanica and Laplje Selo, as rural areas. The study included 227 schoolchildren, aged 12 years, divided into two groups. One group, 129 of them, consisted of children from primary schools in Kosovska Mitrovica, as urban areas. The other group, 98 of them, consisted of children from primary schools in Gracanica and Laplje Selo, as rural areas. Klein-Palmer DMFT system (D-Decayed, M-Missing, F-filled) was used to estimate the prevalence of dental caries, while Silness-Loe plaque index, Loe-Silness gingival index and Muhlemann sulcus bleeding index were used to estimate the level of oral hygiene, gingival status and severity of gingival inflammation. The average number of permanent teeth with caries per respondent (DMFT) was 4.6 in total, for all children. The average value of DMFT in children from urban areas was 3.8, and 5.3 in children from rural areas. SiC Index was 7.9. The average value of the plaque index (PI) was 1.53±0.61, of the gingival index (GI)1.05±0.58 and of the bleeding index (BI) 0.64±0.59. The established state of oral health and periodontium in examined children points to the necessity of applying modern preventive and prophylactic measures in order to improve the oral health and increase the motivation for the overall health care.