Community Dental Health
- Cover Date:
- March 2017
- Print ISSN:
- 0265 539X
- Vol:
- 34
- Issue:
- 1
Dental caries experience among Albanian pre-school children: a national survey
Objective: To determine the dental caries experience and treatment needs among 5-year-olds in Albania. Research Design: This cross sectional study was conducted in 2015 by using a cluster sampling technique. The dmft was used to assess dental caries experience and caries prevalence as percentages of children with dmf>0. Caries treatment needs were assessed with dtâ„dmft x 100, missing teeth with mtâ„dmft x 100 and ft â„dmft x 100 as the Care Index. Participants: 2,039 five-year-olds, from 17 districts of Albania were selected. Children’s residency was divided into 3 main regions (South, West, Central and North). Method: WHO 2013 diagnostic criteria were used and dental caries was recorded at cavity level d3. Results: The mean age was 5.4 (SD 0.5) years. The caries prevalence (dmf>0) was 84.1%. The prevalence of children without cavitated lesions (d=0) was 20.1%. The mean dmft index was 4.41 (SD 3.83). The caries treatment needs were 84% (SD 26%). Conclusions: The Albanian 5-year-olds assessed in this survey had a high dental caries experience and untreated cavities in the primary dentition. The national health authorities should introduce preventive programs and improved dental care access for this age group.
Key words: 5-year-old children, dmft dmf index, caries prevalence, treatments need, Albania, national survey
doi:10.1922/CDH_3940Hysi04
- Article Price
- £15.00
- Institution Article Price
- £
- Page Start
- 46
- Page End
- 49
- Authors
- D. Hysi, E. Caglar, E. Droboniku, C. Toti, O.O. Kuscu
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