Prevalence of Dental Caries in First Permanent Molar among 12 Years Old School Going Children in Lucknow City

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is a multi-factorial and the most widespread disease. 12 years age has been universally accepted as global monitoring age for dental caries. The first permanent molar (FPM) is the most important unit of mastication and has an important role in establishing the occlusion.

Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of dental caries in FPM among 12 year old school going children of either gender of Lucknow City. The participants were informed of the nature of the study and a verbal consent was obtained. Pilot study was conducted to assess the validity and feasibility of the study. Multistage stratified random sampling technique was employed, and the study was done in two stages. The tooth surface was dried with a cotton pellet and the teeth were examined for dental caries using DMFT indices. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 for descriptive and analytical studies. Type III clinical examination was carried out to record the specific findings.

Result: It was seen that from the total enumeration of 100% (n= 601), 250 study subjects were present with caries in first permanent molar making the prevalence of dental caries among 12 years old school going children to be 41.6%.

Conclusion: It could be concluded that the prevalence of caries in FPM among 12 years old government/ private school going children is high and a proper health care system is needed to prevent dental caries.