Assessment of caries prevalence among children below 5 years old

CONTEXT: In the current scenario of developing countries, dental caries has been a long-standing challenge in the oral health issue and still on the rise. AIM: The aim of the following study is to estimate the caries prevalence in the primary dentition among children below 5 years of age. METERIALS AND METHODS: Study population included both boys and girls below 5 years old attending KGF Dental College and Hospital, Karnataka. A simple random sampling method was used. A total of 672 children were examined under headlamp illumination using mouth mirror and probe according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. A questionnaire was used to elicit information from the attendants regarding general health, intra oral examination and caries experience was recorded using WHO 1997 proforma. The data were computerized and analyzed applying the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. RESULTS: Prevalence of dental caries was 44.34%. Caries prevalence was higher in the boys than the girls and it was statistically significant (P < 0.05). It was also found that primary second molars were the highest carious tooth. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dental caries was high among children below 5 years old. The present study was undertaken to obtain baseline data for planning preventive programs. Untreated caries indicates subsequent steps toward preventive and restorative care should be initiated. In order to reduce the caries prevalence, there is a need for continuous monitoring and health education to the children and parents, guardians.