Caries prevalence in Filipino children without access to conventional dental care

The aim of this study was to determine the caries prevalence in 7 (n=349) and 10-year-old (n=359) Filipino children without any access to dental care in deprived rural communities in Northern Mindanao. Caries was recorded using WHO diagnostic criteria (1997) by two calibrated dentists. The percentage of children caries-free at age 7 and 10 was 7.5% and 16.9%, respectively. In 7-year-olds the caries level was 0.7 DMFT (±1.1) and 7.3 dmft (±4.9), which was concentrated in the D/d components. In 10-year-olds the DMFT was 1.9 (±2.8) and 2.4 (±2.7) dmft, exclusively concentrated in the D/d components. While the caries pattern in the younger children revealed that the caries burden was localised to the first molars (0.6 DMFT), more than one third of the caries attack in the 10-year-olds was in the upper and lower incisors and premolars. The caries prevalence and the pattern of the caries distribution suggests that the Filipino children are a high caries population. The high caries attack in the deciduous dentition was associated with severe carious in the permanent dentition. Because of the limited financial and personal resources, restorative treatment using ART was limited to permanent teeth. However, extraction of the carious deciduous teeth was the treatment of first choice. Invasive measures are prerequisites to control existing caries and pain. Only after doing that can primary preventive measures be effectively used. In conclusion, there is an important need to develop evidence based guidelines for basic oral care in deprived communities. Supported by Vivadent, Schaan, Liechtenstein. Keywords: caries prevalence, epidemiology