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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · European Journal of General Dentistry 2012; 1(01): 34-38
DOI: 10.4103/2278-9626.101355
Original Article

Prevalence of dental caries among five-year-old school children in Shimla city, Himachal Pradesh

Vinay Kumar Bhardwaj
Department of Public Health Dentistry, H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
S. Vaid
1   Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
A. Chug
2   Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
P. Jhingta
3   Department of Periodontology, H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
N. Negi
Department of Public Health Dentistry, H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
,
D. Sharma
3   Department of Periodontology, H. P. Government Dental College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
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Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the study was to assess the prevalence of dental caries among five year old school children in Shimla city-Himachal Pradesh. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 800 school going children 421 (52.62%) boys and 379 (47.38%) girls from government primary schools which were selected randomly from four different zones of Shimla city. Type -III examination was conducted. The data obtained was analyzed by SPSS version 15 ( Inc., Chicago) using proportion test for comparison. Results: Boys were having higher caries prevalence than girls, (46.8% vs 41.6%) and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Caries prevalence was higher in the mandibular arch than in the maxillary arch among both the gender with a difference which was significant statistically. Caries prevalence was higher on left than right side in both male and female subjects. When the caries prevalence of the anterior teeth was compared between the gender, boys showed higher caries prevalence than girls and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Comparison of caries between the arches in the anterior segment revealed that caries attack was higher in the maxillary arch and the difference was highly significant statistically (P<0.01). Conclusion: Dental caries is a significant public health problem among this population. It is a cause of concern which point out to the utmost necessity of dental health education of children, school teachers and parents. Emphasis should be given on regular check-up and application of preventive measures and treatment modalities.

Keywords

Dental caries - prevalence - school children - Shimla


Publication History

Article published online:
01 November 2021

© 2012. European Journal of General Dentistry. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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