Table 1 : Distribution of study population according to significant caries index
The Journal
Dental Caries
Total Significant caries index 3.57
The prevalence of dental caries was found higher among government school children , that is , 53 %, when compared to private school children , that is , 47 % and this difference was found to be statistically significant .
Discussion
On a worldwide basis , there has been an increase in the prevalence of caries along with emerging economies . Whereas prevalence is decreasing in developed countries due to improved oral hygiene practice and implementation of community level prevention programs . However , the increase in caries prevalence is mostly due to lack of oral health care system , because this systems mostly focus on curative care , but there is no periodical implementation of community health prevention and oral health promotion .
Healthy teeth and oral tissues and the need for oral health care are important for any section of society . Oral disorders can have a profound impact on the quality-of-life . Good oral health has real health gains , in that it can improve general health and quality-of-life and contribute to self-image and social interaction . Epidemiologic studies may be of value in assessing the prevalence of diseases , in disclosing trends in disease development , and in analyzing possible factors influencing the
[ 13 ] disease pattern .
In this study , among the total 1400 ( 100 %) study subjects , 745 ( 53.2 %) were boys and 655 ( 46.8 %) were girls . Among both government and private schools maximum school children were boys , that is , 360 ( 51.4 %) and 385 ( 55 %) respectively , which is in accordance to the study
[ 14 ] conducted by Adekoya-Sofowora et al .
Maximum number of school children , that is , 387 ( 27.6 %) were from the age group of 13 years which is in accordance with the study conducted by Pontigo-Loyola et al .[ 15 ] in which maximum number of school children belonged to the age group of 13 years , that is , 850 ( 55.3 %). They suggested higher caries prevalence with advancing age could be due to the susceptibility of newly erupted teeth to become decayed in the existing poor oral hygiene conditions . However , the reason suggested for decrease in caries prevalence after the age of 10 years was due to increase in the level of manual dexterity of the child improving the oral hygiene , increased awareness about oral health and the caries deciduous first and second molars being replaced by newly erupted premolars by the age of 12 years .
In this study , a maximum number of children , that is , 1176 ( 84 %) brushed once in a day . These results are in accordance with the study conducted by Shailee et al .[ 16 ] among both government and private school children in which also a maximum number of children , that is , 620 ( 52.9 %) brushed once in a day .
In this study , 742 ( 100 %) were caries positive , out of which 392 ( 53 %) were government school children and 350 ( 47 %) were private school children . In the study conducted by Piovesan et al . 17 ] of 141 ( 100 %) caries positive school children , 86 ( 61 %) were government school children and 55 ( 39 %) were private school children .
23 22 10 3 13 11
Vol . 12 13 No . 32 Sept-Dec May-August 2016 2017