Dental caries prevalence in the permanent teeth in Greek schoolchildren related to age, sex, urbanization and social status

An epidemiological study of caries experience in permanent teeth of 1739 schoolchildren aged 6-17 years was conducted in Epirus, a northwestern region of Greece. Dental caries was found to be prevalent in the population examined and to increase with age. The mean DMFT values at the ages of 6, 12 and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCommunity dental health Vol. 6; no. 2; p. 131
Main Authors Megas, B F, Athanassouli, T N
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.06.1989
Subjects
Adolescent
Age Factors
Child
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dental Caries - epidemiology
DMF Index
Female
Greece
Humans
Male
Rural Population
Sex Factors
Social Class
Urban Population
Greece
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Summary:An epidemiological study of caries experience in permanent teeth of 1739 schoolchildren aged 6-17 years was conducted in Epirus, a northwestern region of Greece. Dental caries was found to be prevalent in the population examined and to increase with age. The mean DMFT values at the ages of 6, 12 and 17 years were 0.53 +/- 1.13, 4.93 +/- 4.04 and 8.88 +/- 6.19 respectively, while the average DMFT value for the total population examined was 4.96 +/- 4.83. The percentages of the children with caries-free permanent dentitions were 80 per cent at the age of 6 years, 24 per cent at 12 years and 7 per cent at 17 years. The total percentage of caries-free children was 20 per cent. Girls were found to have a higher caries prevalence than boys in all age groups. Small differences in the caries prevalence were found between rural and urban children population. Children of lower socioeconomic levels exhibited slightly higher caries prevalence than children of higher levels. The results of this baseline study indicate that dental caries is a major problem in this region of Greece and therefore an active and effective programme of dental care is necessary for the child population.
ISSN:0265-539X