Dental caries prevalence among 12-14 year-old

schoolchildren in Riyadh: A 14 year follow-up study

of the Oral Health Survey of Saudi Arabia Phase I

Salwa A. Al-Sadhan, BDS, MSc
College of Dentistry, King Saud University
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The objective of this study was to assess the changes in dental caries status among 12-14 year-old schoolchildren in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, fourteen years after the conduct of an Oral Health Survey of Saudi Arabia Phase I. A total of 205 students of the first grade of intermediate schools (12-14 years of age) were randomly selected, using stratified random sampling from 16 schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The children were examined, by two trained examiners, for dental caries using the World Health Organization criteria.  Of the total sample, only 6.3% were caries free showing that the caries prevalence was 93.7%. The mean DMFT value for the total sample was 5.94 (± 3.95). Male students had a significantly higher mean DMFT value (7.20 ± 3.89) than the female students (4.66 ± 3.59) (P<0.0001). Students residing in urban areas demonstrated a significantly higher mean DMFT value (6.45 ± 3.92) compared to students of rural areas (4.61 ± 3.72) (P=0.003). No statistically significant differences were found between the mean DMFT values of Saudi and non-Saudi students (6.09 and 5.35, respectively) (P=0.273) and also no statistically significant differences were found between the mean DMFT values of private and public school children (P=0.439). The caries prevalence has increased considerably among intermediate schoolchildren in Riyadh, 14 years after the conduction of the Oral Health Survey of Saudi Arabia Phase I.

Saudi Dental Journal 2006;18(1):2-7.