Community Dental Health
- Cover Date:
- December 2010
- Print ISSN:
- 0265 539X
- Vol:
- 27
- Issue:
- 4
Dental caries experience of Kuwaiti kindergarten schoolchildren
Objective The aim of the present study was to determine the caries free proportions, caries experience and restorative care received in Kuwaiti kindergarten schoolchildren. Methods A national epidemiologic survey of the 4- and 5-year-old kindergarten schoolchildren (n = 1,277) was conducted in the five governorates of Kuwait. Five trained and calibrated dentists examined the children. Dental caries was scored using WHO diagnostic criteria. Results The percentage of 4- and 5-year-old children with dft = 0 was 32% and 24% respectively. The corresponding mean dft/dfs for 4- and 5-year-olds were 3.7/6.9 and 4.8/9.6. The decayed score was the major component in the mean scores. There was a significant difference in caries experience by governorate, but no difference by gender. The restorative index for 4- and 5-year-olds was 9.4% and 14.1% respectively. Conclusions Caries levels are lower or similar to those in neighbouring and other Middle East countries. A high percentage of carious maxillary incisors indicate an early childhood caries pattern in these children. An extensive prevention programmme in preschool and kindergarten children is now in place.
Key words: Dental caries, kindergarten schoolchildren, Kuwait
- Article Price
- £15.00
- Institution Article Price
- £
- Page Start
- 0
- Page End
- 0
- Authors
- S. A. Al-Mutawa, M. Shyama, Y. Al-Duwairi, P. Soparkar
Articles from this issue
- Title
- Pg. Start
- Pg. End
- Editorial - Improvement of global oral health - the leadership role of the World Health Organization
- 194
- 199
- Trends in childrens’ ability to consent to a dental examination and the potential impact on reported caries indices
- 200
- 205
- Tooth surface loss, prevalence and associated risk factors among 12-14 years school children in Khartoum State, Sudan
- 206
- 212
- Trends in dental caries experience among children and adolescents in northern Poland between 1995 and 2003.
- 218
- 221
- Five-year follow-up of oral health and seizure condition of patients with epilepsy: a prospective observational study
- 233
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- Distribution of certain types of occlusal anomalies among Saudi Arabian adolescents in Jeddah city
- 238
- 241
- Short Communication - The quality of reporting of randomised controlled trials in dental public health
- 253
- 256