Dental caries decline in scholars from the city of Rio das Pedras, SP, Brazi

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the decrease in dental caries prevalence between 1998 and 2004 and to verify the disease distribution inequalities in preschool children and schoolchildren from Rio das Pedras, SP, Brazil, in the same period. The sample comprised 739 children aged 5 to 12 years attending public and private schools in 1998 and 1159 subjects aged 5 to 14 years from public schools in 2004. The Signifi cant Caries Index (SiC) and the Gini Coeffi cient were measured. It was observed an increase of 61.3% (p=0.009) and 28% (p=0.0002) of caries free in 5 and 12 years-old children, respectively. The mean dmft for 5-year-olds was 3.8 (CI95%=2.9-4.7) in 1998 and 2.4 (CI95%=2.0-2.8) in 2004. The DMFT for 12-yearolds was 4.8 (CI95%=4.0-5.6) in 1998, and 2.7 (CI95%=2.3-3.1) in 2004. The decrease of the decayed component of dmft and DMFT indexes was the major contributor for decreasing the caries index of the population. The mean “SIC” index for children aged 12 years decreased from 9.03 to 5.7 from 1998 to 2004. In conclusion, although an improvement in oral health could be observed in the population, some subjects aged 12 years has shown high levels of caries lesions and caries inequalities distribution increased in the period of the study.