A comparison of dental caries status by surface and treatment needs of 5-7 year old children in Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique
Lalloo, R.
Odonto-Stomatologie Tropicale 21(83): 12-15
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0251-172X PMID: 11372111 Document Number: 491970
This paper presents the baseline data of a longitudinal study assessing the dental caries status by surface and the treatment needs of 5-7 year old children in Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. Approximately one hundred 5-7 year old children were examined from randomly selected schools in each of three locations (urban formal, urban informal and rural) in each country. The mean dmfs score for the entire sample was 5.1 (7.5), with the mean number of decayed surfaces being 3.4 and missing surfaces 1.7. The mean dmfs score was significantly higher (p-value < 0.05) in Uganda, especially in the urban informal location. The teeth most commonly decayed were the lower molars and upper central incisors. Most of the teeth decayed needed to be extracted. The findings in this study correlate with the few other studies assessing dental caries by surface in east and southern African countries.