Prevalence of Dental Caries among 5-12 Year Old School Going Children in Urban and Rural Areas of Mahabubnagar District, Telangana, India

Dental caries is the most common chronic infectious disease of oral hard tissues caused by plaque bacteria. It is five times more common than asthama and seven times more common than seasonal allergies. Dental caries affects both the sexes, all races, all socioeconomic status and all age groups. Dental caries will not only cause pain but also places a financial burden on the parent 1 . The prevention of dental caries has long been considered as an important task for the health profession. Several research activities are yet continuing to make the progress in diagnosing, treating and preventing dental caries. Various studies exists on the prevalence of dental caries in the Indian population. In the year 1940, the prevalence of dental caries in 5 to 12 year old school children in india were 55.5% and it was increased to 68% in 1960, later in subsequent years, it has reached to 89% 2,3 . Also, in a survey of National oral health and fluoride mapping, it was found that prevalence of dental caries was about 50% in 5 year old children and close to 84% in older age population 4 . According to world health organization (WHO), the index age group of children (5, 12and 15 years) presents a vulnerable population for the occurrence of dental caries. The age of 12 years has been considered as the global monitoring age for dental caries. Hence, the prevalence of dental caries among this age group needs to be assessed. Dental caries is most commonly measured by the sum of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT/deft index). This index is also widely used to assess the caries status at the population level for public health planning and policymaking purposes. DMFT/deft index, is a cumulative caries measure, which indicates caries occurrence including past and present dental caries. Based on DMFT values, WHO generated a scale to classify caries severity. DMFT values between 0.0 1.1 were very low; 1.2 – 2.6 were low; 2.7 – 4.4 were moderate; 4.5 – 6.5 were high; values exceeding 6.6 were very high 5 .