Oral health status of 6-12 year old children attending a Government Hospital in Kashmir

Background: Dental caries is an irreversible disease, with a likelihood of new lesions that continue to affect humanity Dental caries or tooth decay is an acquired chronic infective disease process caused by the acidic by-products of bacteria inhabiting organized dental plaque or oral bio-film that, if left undisturbed, can dissolve or demineralise the enamel surfaces of the teeth. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the oral health status of school children visiting Department of Pedodontics in Government Dental College, Srinagar. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study involving 543 schoolchildren attending Department of Pedodontics, Government Dental College, Srinagar was conducted in 2015. Oral examination was performed in 543 children to check decayed, missing and filled teeth (deft/DMFT) index and simplified oral hygiene (OHI-S) score. Data were collected via clinical examination. Results: Mean caries experience in deciduous dentition was 3.52 ±4.63. Males presented a higher caries prevalence of 1.59 ±2.05 than the female counter parts who had 1.1±1.17 (p <0.001) which was lower than the caries experience seen in males of the similar age group. Mean defs of the male subjects of age 6 was 4.09±5.32 which was much higher than females in similar age group (p <0.001). It was also observed that there was a statistically significant difference in the decayed component of the primary dentition in males and females. (p <0.005) Conclusion: Caries experience was significantly higher in male students as compared to their female counterparts.