International Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry

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VOLUME 12 , ISSUE 5 ( September-October, 2019 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Assessment of Dental Decay in a Group of Children in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Manal AL-Malik, Hala AlKattan, Lujain ALBukhari

Keywords : Children, Dental caries, Elementary schools, Prevalence, Severity

Citation Information : AL-Malik M, AlKattan H, ALBukhari L. Assessment of Dental Decay in a Group of Children in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2019; 12 (5):423-428.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1659

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 01-02-2020

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2019; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this research was to determine the prevalence, severity, and pattern of dental decay in 6–7-year-old youngsters in military elementary schools in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: The study included 312 youngsters randomly selected from eight elementary schools. Dental decay prevalence was determined by using dmft/dmfs/DMFT/DMFS indices according to the “British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry” diagnostic specifications. Results: There was no statistically notable difference in the prevalence of decay between boys and girls (p = 0.54). There was a notable difference between the mean dmft and dmfs in primary teeth (p = 0.000). There was a notable increase in the prevalence of decay for permanent teeth in males when compared to females (p = 0.011). The mean DMFT in boys was notably higher than that in girls (p = 0.035). No notable difference was found between males and females in mean DMFS (p = 0.54). Conclusion: The prevalence of dental decay was high among the study sample. There is a vast need to reduce dental decay by increasing dental awareness for youngsters and their parents. Clinical significance: Age has an important role in evaluating decay prevalence and dmft/dmfs/DMFT/DMFS indices. On the basis of age, caries is prevalent in 6–7-year-old youngsters and the dmft/dmfs/DMFT/DMFS indices resulted in high values.


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