Caries Risk Assessment Tool for 0-3 Years Old Thai Children

Objective: To develop a caries risk assessment (CRA) tool for 0-3 year old Thai children. Methods: A preliminary questionnaire was constructed, containing all possible caries related factors identified from previous studies and from a modified AAPD tool commonly used in Thailand. The sample consisted of 133 children aged 0-3 years in the childcare centers in Songkhla province and their caregivers. The questionnaire was used in parents' interviewing, after which the data was analyzed to find any relationships with the children caries status collected from the first dental examination. Caries related factors were selected and were classified into core and trend factors. A new CRA tool was then constructed, using only these selected factors. The use of the new CRA tool and a modified AAPD tool were evaluated on another subgroup (n=92) who were randomly sampled from the same group of children-caregivers at 5 months after the first assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of both tools in predicting new caries formation were analyzed. Results: Fifty-two percent of the children had new noncavitated and/or new cavitated caries during the 5 months period.  The positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity and specificity of the modified AAPD tool and the new tool were 47.19 vs.57.41, 66.67 vs. 68.42, 95.35 vs.72.09, and 4.08 vs. 53.06, respectively. Additionally, the new tool is simple, can be used by teachers/dental nurse and could distinguish between children with high and very high caries risk. Conclusion: The new tool could successfully be used to assess caries risk in Thai children.