Caries Prevalence and Caries Associated Measures in Children Living in a Rural Romanian Village

Abstract: A cross-sectional study was performed with the aim to investigate the caries prevalence and associated factors in 6 to 15 year old school children living in a village outside Cluj-Napoca, Romania. All children were offered to be included and examined for dental caries according to World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria. Caries was scored at the tooth and surface levels D/d=decayed, M/m=missing, F/f=filled, T/t=tooth, S/s=surface (DMFT/DMFS/dmft/dmfs) for the permanent and deciduous dentition, respectively. Presence of dental plaque was evaluated according to Silness-Löe, infection with the caries associated bacterial species Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and general information collected with a questionnaire. Totally, 71 children, 69 children were clinically examined. Mean DMFT was 5.7 and DMFS 9.8, and the Significant-Caries-Index (SIC), i.e. the mean (DMFT-value) in the highest tertile based on caries distribution, was 10.8. S. mutans was detected in 86% and S. sobrinus in 49% of the children, and 46% were infected with both species. Five children (7%) were neither infected by S. mutans nor S. sobrinus. Among all children the mean number of reported daily intakes of sweet products was 4.8, and large amounts of dental plaque was generally seen. In conclusion, the caries prevalence among school children in the village was very high, oral hygiene inadequate, daily sugar intake high, and prevalence of S. mutans high, combined with no access to dental care and caries preventive programs.