Oral health of 12-year-old children in Jilin province, China: A population-based epidemiological survey

There is a lack of population-based surveys on oral health in Jilin province. Accordingly, this study aimed to understand the oral health status of 12-year-old children in Jilin province, China, to demonstrate the prevalence of oral health–related diseases, as well as to identify the associated risk factors. From February to April 2017, a cross-sectional investigation was conducted among 2324 children aged 12 years from 63 public schools of 9 regions in Jilin province, China. A questionnaire of World Health Organization (WHO) was conducted to ascertain the potential risk factors associated with oral diseases. The 3 examiners, who received theoretical and clinical training before the investigation, underwent clinical examinations to assess dental caries, dental fluorosis, presence of calculus, and gingival bleeding. Furthermore, the mean decayed-missing-filled tooth (DMFT), the rate of pit and fissure closure, education level of patients, brushing habits, and sugar consumption were also evaluated. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS version 19.0. A total of 2324 twelve-year-old children from 9 regions in Jilin-China were examined from February to April 2017. The prevalence of dental caries, dental fluorosis, calculus, and gingival bleeding reached 40.8%%, 21.8%, 47.93%, and 48.88%, respectively; the mean DMFT was 0.8787. The proportion of DMFT was 83.7% for decayed teeth, 0.2% for missing teeth, and 16.1% for filling teeth. The prevalence of pit and fissure closure was 10%. Educational level of parents was negatively correlated with the prevalence of oral diseases, whereas sugar consumption was positively associated with dental caries prevalent in children. We also found that there was no association between brushing habits and dental caries in children aged 12 years in Jilin Province.