Prevalence of Dental Caries in permanent Mandibular First Molars in Adult Patients Visiting OPD of Department of Conservative Dentistry&Endodontics (18 to 44 years) a Cross Sectional Study

Dental caries is a widespread global oral disease and a significant economic problem in developed countries, which has a direct impact on the quality of life. The mandibular first molar is the first tooth to erupt and has the longest exposure to the oral cavity and is very important with regard to bearing all the masticatory load and in maintaining a functionally desirable occlusion. Dental caries can ultimately lead to the extraction of first mandibular molars if not treated early. Therefore this study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of caries in 1st permanent mandibular molars, in terms of the proportion of persons affected. The patients visiting the OPD were randomly selected using simple random sampling method with a sample size of 994. Case history was taken and Caries were clinically diagnosed in mandibular first molars. Out of the 994 patients examined, 81.58 % of patients showed presence of caries in permanent mandibular first molars in the age group of 18-45 years the study showed that there is a very high prevalence and susceptibility of dental caries in permanent mandibular first molars.