Caries prevalence of children with Down’s Syndrome in Johannesburg, Gauteng province

Objectives: (1) To determine the dental caries status and unmet treatment needs among children with DS; (2) To compare the dmft data with the SiC index
Methods: This cross sectional study consisted of a convenient sample of 67 children attending four Down’s Syndrome Association outreach sites in Johannesburg. Dental caries status was recorded using the dmft index according to the WHO guidelines by calibrated examiners.
Results: The mean age of the participants was 4years SD 3.2 and the majority were male (67%) compared to females (33%) participants. The caries prevalence of the study population was 25% and unmet treatment needs rate was 100%. Male participants had higher caries prevalence (31%) compared to the females (14%) however the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). The mean dmft score was 1.28 SD 3.10 and no significant difference was noted between the genders. There was a significant difference between the SiC index score 3.90 SD 4.41 when compared to the mean dmft score (p=0.001).
Conclusions: Children with DS had low caries prevalence and there was an uneven distribution of the burden of dental caries among the participants and this is evidence can be used to inform the choice of preventive oral health programs in settings with limited resources.