Dental caries prevalence in 6-7 year-old

schoolchildren in Riyadh region: A comparative

study with the 1987 - Oral Health Survey of Saudi Arabia Phase I

Khalid A. Al-Wazzan, BDS, MS
Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 60169, Riyadh 11545, KSA, E-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Objectives: To determine the magnitude and severity of dental caries prevalence in 6-7 year-old schoolchildren in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, fourteen years after the conduct of the Oral Health Survey of Saudi Arabia Phase I. Materials and Methods: Six hundred and two elementary school first graders 6-7 year-old children were randomly selected using stratified cluster random sampling from 18 schools in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia. All the children were examined for caries using World Health Organization oral health survey criteria. Results: Of the total sample, only 5.6% were free of caries. The mean dmft index of the total sample was 7.34 (±4.02).  The mean dmft for boys (8.13) was significantly higher than the one for girls (6.48) (P<0.0001). The rural children demonstrated a significantly lower dmft (6.28) than the urban (7.69) (P<0.0001), and the Saudi schoolchildren showed significantly higher dmft index (7.56) than the non-Saudis (6.53) (P=0.010).The children of private school had a lower dmft, which was significantly different from those in public schools (P= 0.012). Conclusions: The caries prevalence has increased significantly in elementary schoolchildren of Riyadh region 14 years after the conduct of Oral Health Survey of Saudi Arabia Phase I.

Saudi Dental Journal 2004;16(2):54-60.