Do the more caries in early primary dentition indicate the more caries in permanent dentition? Results of a 5-years follow-up study in rural-district

AIM: In the deprived communities with high caries incidence, determination of high-risk children in early age is a valuable tool to apply the individual and/or community-level preventive measures. The purpose of this 5-years follow-up study was to examine the relationship between early caries occurrence on primary incisors and the future caries occurrence on both first permanent molars and all permanent dentition in the children living in rural Turkey. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 34 children living in rural-districts of southeastern Anatolia were included, and divided in both test (caries positive for maxillary primary incisors) and control groups (caries free on the same teeth). During the 5-years they were examined annually regarding new caries occurrence in either first permanent molars for the Decayed, Missing, Filled Tooth Index [(DMF(T)([6]))] or all permanent dentition (DMF(T)). RESULTS: At the beginning of the study, the age range of the children was 3 to 5 (mean ± St dv; 4.03 1.24), and d(t)([max 1,2]) and df(t) indices for the deciduous dentition of test and control groups were 2.65 ± 0.78; 4.29 ± 2.08 and 0; 0.24 ± 0.43, respectively. After 5-years mean DMF(T)([6]) and total DMF(T) for test and control groups were 1.88 ± 0.66; 3.12 ± 0.69 and 0.47 ± 0.62; 0.65 ± 0.93, respectively (for each parameters the difference was statistically significant P < 0.01). For test group the number of caries on primary-incisors (d(t)([max 1,2])) was correlated with the DMF(T)([6]) (r = 0.80) and DMF(T) (r = 0.59). CONCLUSION: The caries-information including the early primary incisors could be helpful in identifying children with increased risk so that preventive measures could be directed at those who fit the high-risk-caries profile.