Dental Caries: A Schoolchildren Epidemiological profile in a Seaside Town, brazil, 2017

The objective of this study was to perform an analysis of the dental caries profile in preschool, kindergarten and first to fifth grade elementary school students in BalneárioPinhal, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The experience of caries was described by the prevalence of caries, and the deft and DMFT scores, as described by the World Health Organization, and by the number of students requiring dental treatment. The mean deft at 5-years-old children was 1.54. The DMFT at 12 years-old was 0.53. Taking into account the diagnostic criteria recommended by the WHO, in which only the diagnosis of carious cavities is counted, the students of BalneárioPinhal presented a very low DMFT at 12 years-old. The most relevant components for determining the prevalence of dental caries were: teeth with caries, followed by filled and extracted teeth. The WHO target for the year 2000, that 50% of children between five and six years of age should be free of caries has been met. However, still in 2019, oral health care for BalneárioPinhal schoolchildren needs improvement in order to reach the WHO goal for the year 2010, and to meet students who need some kind of dental treatment for the consequences of caries disease.