Nadya A. Al-Ghannam,* BDS, MSc, SBARD, Nazeer B. Khan,** MSc, PhD,
Abdullah R. Al-Shammery,*** BDS, MDS, Amjad H. Wyne,** BDS, BSc, MDS, FASDC
*Dental Center, Al Ahsa Region, Saudi Arabia, **Preventive Dental Sciences Dept., College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, ***Private College of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh

The aim of the study was to determine dental caries prevalence and severity among adult patients attending Al-Ahsa Dental Center in Al-Ahsa Region of Saudi Arabia. A total of 544 adult patients, 42% males and 58% females with a mean age of 42.7±18.1 years, were examined for dental caries utilizing WHO criteria for diagnosis of dental caries. The caries prevalence among the sample was 89.2% with a mean DMFT score of 13.24±11.53. The mean DMFT scores of the patients from urban areas (14.03±12.11) were significantly higher than patients from rural areas (11.39±9.84) (P<0.01). Missing teeth was the major component of the total DMFT score. About 17% of the patients were edentulous. However, more than half (56.8%) of the patients above 61 years were edentulous. In conclusion, the caries prevalence and severity were very high among the subjects studied. 

Saudi Dental Journal 2005;17(2):57-62.