Dental caries status and treatment needs of 12-13 year-old children in Sichuan Province, Southwestern China

Abstract

Objective: To update information on the dental caries status of children living in the Southwestern part of China for planning appropriate dental care services and to obtain information on caries level in rural areas. Method: All first year students studying in seven secondary schools (two in urban, two in peri-urban and three in rural areas) in Sichuan Province were surveyed. The students were clinically examined in their schools using procedures and diagnostic criteria recommended by the World Health Organization. Results: A total of 1,542 children, 12-13 years of age, were examined of which 660, 519 and 363 were from the urban, peri-urban and rural schools respectively. The prevalence of caries experience was highest in urban children (30%), followed by peri-urban children (21%) and lowest in rural children (13%). The respective DMFT index scores foi the urban, peri-urban and rural children were 0.62, 0.38 and 0.18. The differences were statistically significant (P<0.001). The major component of the DMFT index was untreated decay (DT) in all three areas. Conclusion: There was a clear trend of increasing prevalence and severity of dental caries in children as the survey sites moved from rural, through peri-urban to urban areas. Thus, estimates of dental caries in Chinese child populations of this age based on surveys conducted in urban areas will probably lead to gross over-estimation as over 80% of the people live in rural areas.