Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Dental caries and oral hygiene in 12 year-old Lithuanian schoolchildren

Simona Milciuviene, Egle Bendoraitiene, Vilija Vaitkeviciene, Julija Narbutaite, Ingrida Vasiliauskiene, Egle Slabsinskiene

Objective. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of dental caries, DMFT and evaluate
the oral hygiene among 12 year-old schoolchildren in ten counties of Lithuania.
Material and methods. One thousand thirty five (1035) 12 year-old schoolchildren were clinically
examined for dental caries and evaluation of oral hygiene was performed. Caries was recorded in
accordance with the WHO criteria. Oral hygiene was evaluated by OHI-S index (Green and
Vermillion).
Results. The prevalence of dental caries was 74.5% and varied between counties from 59.4% to
96.2%. The mean DMFT was 2.56 ± 0.07 and varied between counties from 1.41 ± 0.15 to 4.46 ± 0.25.
Oral hygiene was satisfactory (mean OHI-S 1.36 ± 0.06). 37.3% of the children brushed their teeth
twice per day, 49.1% - once daily, and 13.6% brushed their teeth seldom. An association between
dental caries and oral hygiene was found.
Conclusions. The prevalence of dental caries was 74.5%. The mean DMFT was 2.56 ± 0.07. Oral
hygiene was satisfactory and the mean OHI-S was 1.36 ± 0.06. The number of teeth affected by dental
caries ranked from 1 to 4, result found in 61.6% of schoolchildren examined.
The oral health status may be improved by the implementation of preventive programs. The creation
of the program was based on the findings of the present study. Aprogram based on main methods,
as teaching proper oral hygiene habits and application of sealants on the first molars was implemented
in 6-8 year-old children.