Dental Caries Experience and Associated Oral Health Determinants of 5-6 Year Old Schoolchildren in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka

The aims of the present study were to measure the prevalence of dental caries in schoolchildren aged 5-6 years in Kandy district, in Sri Lanka and the influence of determinants of health on dental caries. A descriptive cross sectional analytical study was conducted in October to December 2010 and a total of 410 children at mean age of 67.3 months (5 years and 7.3months) were selected from schools located in different geographic regions in Kandy district. A calibrated examiner performed the clinical examinations and collected data according to the World Health Organization (WHO) standards in 1997. Data analyses were subsequently conducted to identify differences and association between dmft and schoolchild oral health behavioral and parent socio-behavioral determinants using Chi square test and odds ratio analysis respectively. In the sample of schoolchildren analyzed in this study, the mean dmft was 3.5 (±0.36), mean dmfs was 6. 8 (± 0.8) for deciduous teeth and mean DMFT was 0.02 (± 0.01) for permanent teeth. Caries prevalence was 68%. There was no statistically significant difference between male and female children. The decayed, missing and filled components of the dmft were respectively 76.26%, 10.61% and 12.9% respectively. The Care Index of the present study sample was very low as10.61%. According to the results of this study, a significant difference was observed in dmft between children who used and who did not use fluoride toothpaste (p ≤ 0.005). In conclusion prevalence of dental caries among 5-6 year old children in Kandy district is relatively high (68.8%) with high dmft level of 3.5±0 highlighting the urgent need of interventional programmes aimed at improving oral hygiene among them.