The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the dental caries trend of deciduous teeth among children in kindergarten in Western China.
Method: A sample of 600 children (mean age 3.2 years) from 6 different kindergarten (3 of them represented urban areas and another 3 represented rural areas ) was examined at baseline. 361 children had taken the follow-up examinations one and two years later. Caries experience were recorded using the WHO criteria. Bivariate associations were analyzed through chi-square tests.
Result:
Caries prevalence rate and dmft index of deciduous teeth tended to ascend in three years, there was statistical significance(p<0.05). At baseline, children’s caries prevalence rate and dmft were 52.9% and 2.04±2.984 respectively. Except dmft in rural area(2.52±3.416) is higher than in the urban(1.61±2.468), prevalence rate and filling rate doesn’t show any statistic difference between urban and rural or between boys and girls. In the second year, caries prevalence and dmft of rural area(65.3%, 3.42±4.092) are higher than that of urban area(53.4%, 2.01±2.856), and the difference was statistically significant(p<0.05). At the final follow-up time, prevalence rate and dmft are 67.9% and 3.81±4.094. Caries incidence rate of urban children(16.8%) is higher than that of rural children(8.2%) in the second year, which the difference was statistically significant(p<0.05), so that urban- rural differences didn’t exist in caries prevalence rate and dmft index at third review. Between boys and girls, there is no significant difference in this survey.
Conclusion: Caries prevalence of deciduous teeth among these areas of Western China is high. Appropriate prevention , such as health education in parents, should be taken as soon as deciduous teeth eruption.