Introduction: Caries is a social disease and a serious problem, especially in the childhood. The effects of untreated caries can cause not only disorders of the stomatognathic system, but also have a negative impact on the overall health and development of the child
The aim of the study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the state of dentition of 6-year-old children from the Skierniewice region
Materials and methods: A total of 140 children (6-year-old) were included to the study - 74 from a small town (Skierniewice) and 66 from a village. Caries prevalence, caries intensity (dmf, DMF) and dental treatment index (DTI) were assessed. The results were analyzed statistically
Results: The caries prevalence in the study group was 88.6%. The caries intensity in the deciduous dentition (dmf) was statistically significantly higher (p=0.021) in rural areas (7.45) than in the city (6.32). The mean dmf value was mainly determined as the number of filled teeth. In permanent dentition, higher values of DMF were found in children from rural areas (2.30) than urban areas (1.93). The dental treatment index for the deciduous dentition amounted to 0.67 and for the permanent dentition to 0.4. Both for deciduous and permanent teeth, this index was higher in urban than rural children
Conclusions: High rates of caries prevalence and intensity in 6-year-old children from the Skierniewice region confirm that caries is still a serious problem, especially in the village. The high value of the treatment index for deciduous dentition demonstrates the efficacy of treatment in this field. It is necessary to carry out preventive programs and make parents aware that they should early take care of their children’s dentition
Keywords: caries prevalence; caries intensity; Dental Treatment Index.