1Professor, Sree Balaji Dental College, Pallikarani, Chennai
2Private Practitioner, Sree Balaji Dental College, Pallikarani, Chennai
3Professor and Head of the Department Sree Balaji Dental College, Pallikarani, Chennai
4Senior Lecturer, Sree Balaji Dental College, Pallikarani, Chennai
*Corresponding author Dr. J. Jeevarathan, Department of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry, Sree Balaji Dental College & Hospital ’Narayanapuram, Pallikaranai, Chennai, 600100, dr_rathan@rediffmail.com
Online published on 26 September, 2019.
DMF index has got proven limitations and hence new system was introduced. Hence, there is a need to collect contemporary data in accordance with the new system.
Aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of dental caries among schoolchildren in fishermen community using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II) criteria.
The total number of school children who participated in this study was 541 aged between 6–14 years. Caries prevalence was assessed using ICDAS-II code by the chief researcher. The results were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis and Binomial test was used to compare different groups.
The overall prevalence of dental caries among the schoolchildren was 82.3%. with no significant difference between the genders. Non-cavitated (or) early enamel caries lesions was highly prevalent among the student population, among the teeth assessed CARS (Caries Associated with Sealants and Restorations) criteria showed that only 1.1% of the surveyed population had secondary caries.
It is recommended that continuous monitoring and effective implementation of preventive and restorative programs to be carried out in schools to increase the dental disease awareness thereby reducing the caries prevalence.
Caries, ICDAS II, CARS
