Dental caries profile among 6-8-year old children from Bialystok District, Poland

__________________________________________________________________________________________ Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the status of permanent teeth in children aged 6-8 years from the Bialystok District, Poland. Material/Methods: 542 children aged between 6 and 8 years from Bialystok and the surrounding area were included in the study. The dental examination was conducted by one calibrated examiner in the school setting with the use of an artificial light, a dental mirror and a periodontal probe in accordance with the WHO guidelines. The Decayed Missed Filled Teeth (DMFT) and the Significant Caries Index (SiC) indices were used to evaluate the status of permanent teeth. Results: The mean DMFT index for the whole group was 0.33±0.85. It was 0.09±0.39 for 6-yearold children, 0.32±0.77 in 7-year-olds and 0.5±1.07 in 8-year-olds. The highest mean number of decayed teeth (DT) was observed in 7-year-old children (0.14±0.46). In every age group, the FT component was greater than DT. The mean number of teeth with fissure sealant varied from 0.57±1.15 to 1.22±1.59 depending on age. The SiC index was 0.25, 0.95 and 1.48 in 6-, 7and 8-year-old children, respectively. Conclusions: The status of permanent teeth in the surveyed population of 6-8-year-old children living in the Bialystok District was better than in the previous studies. The study confirmed that the majority of caries is concentrated in a small group of subjects.