Caries in primary school children: Prevalence, severity and

pattern in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia 

Nazeer B. Khan, BSc, MSc, MS, PhD, Nadya A. Al Ghannamt, BDS, MSc
Abdullah R. Al Shammery, BDS, MS, Amjad H. Wyne, BSc, BDS, MDS, FASDC
College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, 

The objectives of the study were to determine the carles prevalence, severity and pattern In primary school children of Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia. Four hundred and fifty seven randomly selected primary school children were examined for this purpose. The result showed carles prevalence of 82.9% with a mean dmft of 4.45 (S.D. 3.76). The mean dmft difference between male and female children was statistically significant (p<0.0001). The mean dmft of urban children was significantly (p<0.0001) lower than that of their rural counterparts. There was no significant difference In carles severity in terms of socioeconomic status of the children (p-O.520l. Similarly, no significant caries prevalence difference was found in terms of gender, area and socioeconomic status. The teeth most affected by carles were mandibular first primary molars (46.6%). The least affected teeth were mandibular primary central incisors (3.95%).