Prevalence of dental caries, severity, and pattern in age 6 to 7-year-old children in a selected community in Saudi Arabia.

AIMS The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, severity, and pattern of dental caries in 6 to 7-year-old children in military primary schools in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS AND MATERIALS A random sample of 300 children (6 to 7-year-olds) was drawn from six schools of military dependents. Clinical examinations were carried out under standardized conditions by two trained and calibrated examiners (MAM) and (YR). Caries were diagnosed using the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) criteria. RESULTS Caries were diagnosed in 288 (96%) of the children, and only 4% were clinically caries free. Mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) for the 300 children was 8.06 (+ 4.04) per child and mean decayed, missing, and filled surfaces (dmfs) was 23.18 (+ 15.64). The teeth most affected by caries were mandibular primary second molars (83.35%), and the least affected were mandibular primary central incisors (1.15%). CONCLUSIONS The level of caries was higher than seen in children of equivalent age in other studies. The level of caries is expected to increase in permanent dentition. The above findings stress the need for an effective program of oral prevention in these children, such as a school dental health education program for children and their parents in order to improve their oral health status.