Patterns of Dental Caries and Tooth Loss among 12 and 15 year School Children in Chennai City, India

To assess the patterns of dental caries and tooth loss among 12 and 15 year old school children in Chennai city.

A total of 3,315 school children in Chennai city were examined by multiphase cluster sampling technique. The 12 year olds consisted of 1,448 school children of which 706 were males and 742 were females. The 15 year olds consisted of 1,867 school children of which 959 were males and 908 were females. The data was collected and recorded on a preformed proforma sheet. The data was then processed and analyzed using the paired and independent t test. The level of significance was set at p=0.05

The prevalence of dental caries among the 12 and 15 year old school children was 46.9% and 48.5% respectively. As the age increases the dental caries prevalence also increases with age and this relationship was found to be statistically significant. Molars accounted for most of the Decayed component (D) and Missing component (M) component of the Deccayed, Missing, Filled teeth index (DMFT index). The distribution of caries was a bilateral phenomenon. The mandibular arch was frequently more affected than the maxillary arch across both the age groups with substantial statistical difference. Females experienced more decay than the males in the 12 year old age group while the vice versa was observed in the 15 year old age group.

Dental caries and subsequent tooth loss is a public health problem, that needs to be assessed. Knowledge on the distribution of the disease pattern, aids in the implementation of dental health programmes. Such preventive efforts can be directed on school children, as for with them lies our future.