CARIES PREVALENCE AND TREATMENT NEED AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN TAIF, SAUDI ARABIA

Al Shamrani; A.S; Bassuoni; M.W; Mohamed; M.A; Mohamed; R.N; Hussein; Y.M

Volume : V, Issue : VII, July - 2015

CARIES PREVALENCE AND TREATMENT NEED AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN TAIF, SAUDI ARABIA

Al Shamrani, A. S, Bassuoni, M. W, Mohamed, M. A, Mohamed, R. N, Hussein, Y. M

Abstract :

Background & objectives: Many developed countries have shown a marked decrease in the prevalence of dental caries in children over the past decades. However, in many other developing countries caries prevalence has increased .Previous studies carried out in Saudi Arabia have shown a high prevalence of caries in both preschool, and school–aged children. A comparative analysis of dental caries experience and treatment needs of children according to the gender. Settings and Design: A cross–sectional study with a collection of primary data on caries prevalence and treatment needs in school children. Subjects and Methods: A sample of 600 six–year–old and 600 twelve–year–old children were randomly selected by a two–stage cluster sampling method. Children were examined using the 1987 WHO caries criteria. Statistical analysis used: Chi–square test, students t test was used for analysis. The level of significance adopted for all tests was 5%. Results: The proportion of caries–free six–year–old children was 8.6% and 9.5% in boys and girls, respectively (P = 0.063). The mean deft in 6 years old was 5.32. In twelve years old the proportion of caries free children was 23.7% of boys and 34.2% in girls (p=0.047).The mean DMFT±SD was 3.71±2.28 (3.78 ±2.3 for boys and3.64 ±3.27 in girls) (P>0.05). The FT component in 12– year group showed statistically significant gender variation (p=0.039). Higher treatment needs were found among boys in 12 year age group schoolchildren (TN = 80.7%) compared with the girls (TN = 70.3%) (P =0.059). Restorative treatment was the major treatment needed in this population. Conclusions: The data show that treatment needs were more in boys when compared to the girls. The difference in number of filled teeth in 12 year age group among boys and girls suggests that there is a gross discrepancy in providing dental care to girls in the region of Taif, Saudi Arabia.