A WHO Pathfinder Survey of Dental Caries in 6 and 12-Year Old Transylvanian Children and the Possible Correlation with Their Family Background, Oral-Health Behavior, and the Intake of Sweets

To our knowledge, recent oral health data in Romania is poor, as no comprehensive oral health surveys have been carried out in the last five years. The present cross-sectional oral health survey aimed to assess the dental health status in 6 and 12-year old children from Transylvania, in correlation with their family background, oral-health behavior, and the intake of sweets. The study was conducted on 290 children from nine schools in the Transylvanian region of Romania. The study consisted of the clinical examination of children, recording of data in an International Cavity Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) chart, and a questionnaire referring to the child's parental education, frequency, and motivation of visits to the dentist, dental care habits, and the intake of sweets. Our results indicated that the most prevalent ICDAS scores recorded in 6-year-old children were "0A" (p = 0.001464), "03" (p = 0.00366), "05" (p = 0.005563), "06" for rural areas. Restorations were statistically more prevalent in the urban population (p = 0.000076). The ICDAS score for 12-year old children was "03" (p = 0.003614) and prevalent in the urban area. The ICDAS score for the rural area was "04" (p = 0.0056). Comparing dental health status with family background demonstrated a strong correlation for the group of 6-year-old children, and a lack of correlation for the 12-year-old children. The number of dental visits corelated with the parents' backgrounds, and was higher in the urban population. Frequent hygiene habits (toothbrushing) were statistically correlated with lower ICDAS scores: "04" (p = 0.016482), "05" (p = 0.039127), "06" (p = 0.010785). Eating habits in both age groups were associated with statistically significant differences of "03", "04", "05", "06", "0A" in the ICDAS score. The obtained results provided clarification on the dental health situation in Romania and the potential risk factors of caries among the population, and therefore it could be used as a starter point for future studies to investigate, in depth, the effects of various variables on cavities found in Transylvanian schoolchildren.