Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate caries prevalence in a sample of schoolchildren aged 6 to 16 years from rural and urban areas in Croatia.
Methods: Using standardized World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria, the oral health status of 1,589 children (265 from rural and 1,324 from urban areas) was assessed by recording the following indices: DMFT (decayed, missing, filled permanent teeth), deft (decayed, extracted, filled primary teeth), DMFS (decayed, missing, filled surfaces - permanent teeth), defs (decayed, extracted, filled surfaces - primary teeth) and SiC (Significant Caries Index). Rural areas were Štitar and Babina Greda municipalities in Slavonia and urban areas were the cities of Županja (Slavonia), Zagreb and Dubrovnik.
Results: Half of the examined children (50.0%) had caries (D component in DMFT), with 46.0% of these being from urban and 70.2% from rural areas. The median DMFT among children was 2, 4 (rural) and 2 (urban) (p < 0.001). Among 12-year-olds, the median DMFT was 4 (rural) and 3 (urban), and mean DMFT was 3.4. The median DMFS for rural area was 5 and for urban area 3 (p < 0.001). The median deft was 1.00 for rural and 1.00 for urban, while the highest value was found among 6-year-olds at 9 in rural and 7 in urban areas. The median SiC was 4, 4 (urban) and 5 (rural).
Conclusion: Schoolchildren from urban and rural areas in Croatia differ significantly in caries prevalence. They fall into the medium DMFT classification group according to the WHO, which indicates the need for a comprehensive oral health preservation programme.
Keywords: DMF index; cross-sectional studies; dental caries; epidemiology; paediatric dentistry; preventive dentistry.