Background: Dental Caries is a common infectious disease of tooth with its high prevalence rate among children and it still continues to be a major public health concern around the globe.
Aims and Objectives:To measure the prevalence of dental caries and determine the quality of oral hygiene maintenance with special reference to treatment requirements among school going children.
Materials and Methods:Total n = 937 school going children from age 6 to 15 were screened. All the subjects have been randomly selected through school visits. A team of dental surgeons performed intraoral examination in participants with special focus on the DMFT Index showing the number of teeth that have undergone decay, extractions or restorations as a result of dental caries. Their oral hygiene has been observed and treatment needs have been recorded, if any.
Results:It has been found that out of total n = 937 subjects who have been included in the present study and screened for their DMFT status n = 656 subjects were males, 65% while n = 281 were females (35%). Age range was from 6 years to 15 years with mean age ranging from 10.53 ± 2.844. These subjects have been randomly selected through school visits. Mean Decayed missing filled teeth index (DMFT) calculated was 0.51 ± 0.902 which indicates low to moderate caries prevalence.
Conclusion:Prevalence of dental caries was found to be ranging between low to moderate among mixed dentition stage children and the trend was even more common among the age group 9 to 11 years. Strict preventive programs should be implemented.
Keywords: Dental Caries; Dentition Stage; Decayed Missing Filled Teeth Index (DMFT)