Pattern of Dental Caries in 6-12 year old School Children

The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of dental caries experienced by children between the ages of 6 to12 years old in the Central Eastern Division of Fiji.

Methods:

This was a retrospective cross sectional study that aimed to collect information related to the pattern of dental caries affecting children in Fiji utilizing data present through dental records kept by the Oral Health School Teams in the Central Eastern Division. The primary target group was 112 children’s records. The list of schools covered by the Ministry of Health school team for the central eastern division was obtained. Examination and treatment records of the school children were reviewed for the following information: diagnosis of caries based on tooth and tooth surface affected, age, ethnicity and gender using Epi Infor 6. The patients were from urban, periurban and rural setting.

Results:

The results showed that the molars had high frequency of occlusal caries (89.9%) followed by interproximal which had a similar trend and the least affected was incisal edge of the incisors. There was a significant difference in caries amongst schools with canteen and those without it. In the 6-8 year olds, the pit and fissures caries is the highest (50%) for schools that have canteen. Similar trends are seen in the 8-10 and 10 -12 year olds although the percentage of caries has decreased. There was no significant finding revealed across age, ethnicity and gender.

Conclusions:

There is an increase in the presence of caries on the occlusal caries amongst the 6 to 12 year olds in the greater Suva area. Hence the Ministry of Health should target these surfaces for prevention with the use of pit and fissure sealants.