Caries prevalence in 6-year-olds in Israel, 2014

Objectives: To gather up to date clinical data on caries prevalence of 6 year olds in Israeli population.
Methods: Prevalence survey of a representative sample of 6 year olds examined according to WHO Oral Health Survey methods IV.
Results: Out of 1210 children, 37.4% were caries free. Dmft was 2.67, (dt = 1.5, ft = 1.2, mt = 0). The dmft among boys was higher comparing to girls (2.81 vs 2.51). 36.2% of the boys, and 38.8% of the girls were caries free. Among the 357 Examined Arab children, the dmft was significantly higher compared to jewish children (3.92 vs 2.15). 21.6% of Arab and 44% of Jewish were caries free. This disparity is greater in the dt component (2.97 vs 0.87) and the lower ft (0.95 vs 1.24). The missing teeth due to caries were twice higher in Arabs than Jewish. A positive correlation between low socioeconomic and low caries free children can be noticed.
Conclusions: High caries prevalence in deciduous teeth and disparities between sectors and socioeconomic strata still exist. The impact of the reform on the number of treated teeth in Jewish was positive.