Dental Caries Status of Permanent Teeth of 6-12-year-old Schoolchildren

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to describe the dental caries status of permanent teeth of 6 to 12 years old schoolchildren in two townships in Myanmar and to compare the caries status of the children from different age, location and gender groups. Methods: A total of 700 school children, aged 6 to 12 years, in the Htantapin Township and the Lanmadaw Township were selected for the dental survey. This cross-sectional survey was conducted in the children's schools. The procedures and diagnostic criteria recommended by the World Health Organization for oral survey were adopted. The DMFT index was used in the assessment of dental caries status. Results: The caries prevalence and mean DMFT score of the study children were 34.6% and 0.60, respectively. The dental caries prevalence of children in urban area was 38.3%, which was significantly higher than the prevalence of 30.9% among the children in rural area. The caries prevalence of the boys and girls in this study was not significantly different (p=0.153), except the 12-year-old age group in which the prevalence among the girls was higher than that of the boys (p=0.016). Prevalence of dental caries and the mean DMFT score of the 6-year-olds were 13% and 0.17. Prevalence of dental caries and the mean DMFT score of the 12-year-olds were 53% and 1.15. Conclusions: The caries prevalence of the permanent teeth of 6 to 12 year-old school children gradually increased with age, and was higher among the urban children.