Dental caries and dental fluorosis in 7-12-year-old schoolchildren in Catalão, Goiás, Brazil

• Autor(a) principal: Bardal, Priscila Ariede Petinuci
• Data de Publicação: 2005
• Outros Autores: Olympio, Kelly Polido Kaneshiro, Buzalaf, Marília Afonso Rabelo, Bastos, José Roberto de Magalhães
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Journal of applied oral science (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://www.revistas.usp.br/jaos/article/view/3245
• topic: Epidemiologia; Saúde escolar; Levantamentos de saúde bucal; Cárie dentária; Fluorose dentária; Epidemiology; School health; Oral health surveys; Oral diagnosis; Dental caries; Dental fluorosis

INTRODUCTION: Over the last two decades, the prevalence of dental caries in children has decreased and the prevalence of dental fluorosis has increased. Knowledge on the epidemiologic conditions of a population is fundamental for the planning of health programs. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of dental caries and dental fluorosis among schoolchildren, in Catalão, Goiás, Brazil. METHODS: A random sample of 432 schoolchildren aged 7-12-years old was obtained. WHO (1997) criteria for dental caries and fluorosis diagnosis were used. RESULTS: The DMFT indexes were 0.97; 1.20; 1.80; 1.62; 2.40 and 2.51 for 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 years old, respectively. Analysis of dental fluorosis for the same ages presented higher prevalence at 12 years old and for the female gender. The percentage of questionable dental fluorosis (Dean's classification) was 34.0%. Only 3% of the sample presented dental fluorosis with scores very mild, mild and moderate. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of caries in schoolchildren of Catalão, Goiás, Brazil, was low. In average, private schools showed better results than public schools; however, all schools presented a low DMFT index. In this study, dental fluorosis is not a public health problem and has not damaged dental esthetics.