Received: February 2017, Accepted: May 2017 Background: Dental caries is the most prevalent oral disease among children. The first permanent molar has been introduced as an index for predicting caries activity, and determining dental and oral health status and the groups most vulnerable to caries. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of caries in the first permanent molars among students of 7 and 12 years of age in Rafsanjan, Iran, in 2009-2010. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 360 students (girls and boys) in Rafsanjan. The participants were selected through multistage random sampling. Clinical examination for the diagnosis of caries was based on the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. Data were collected through interviews and clinical examinations and analyzed using Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests. Results: The total mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index of the sample was 1.66 ± 1.47 (1.78 ± 1.51 in boys and 1.51 ± 1.42 in girls) (P = 0.081). Mean DMFT was 1.79 ± 1.33 and 1.52 ± 1.56 in the 12 years and 7 years age groups, respectively (P = 0.029). The decayed teeth (DT), missing teeth (MT), and filled teeth (FT) in this index were 52.21%, 40.96%, 6.82%, respectively. The prevalence of caries free (CF) among the students was 34.7% (31.28% in boys and 37.57% in girls). A statistically significant difference was observed among the students in terms of gender and age (P < 0.05); CF was 43.24% in the 7 years age group and 24.57% in the 12 years age group. Conclusions: Considering the WHO criteria, the prevalence of caries and CF in the first permanent molars among students of 7 and 12 years of age in Rafsanjan was relatively favorable.

Background:The majority of individuals who visit the dentist are anxious. They are usually capable of controlling their anxiety. However, this fear sometimes creates great problems for the patient and dentist such as lack of visiting the dentist for treatment, incorrect diagnosis due to lack of appropriate communication between the patient and dentist, and finally, reduction of oral health level. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of dental fear and anxiety in students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran, and its relationship with oral and dental health status in the 2010-2011 academic year. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was conducted using the Dental Anxiety Scale-Revised (DAS-R), Dental fear Scale (DFS), and the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index checklist. The study was performed on 300 students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, enrolled during 2005-2011. The participants were selected through stratified random sampling based on the population of each department (medicine, nursing and midwifery, dentistry, and paramedicine). The DMFT, DAS-R, and DFS scores along with other gathered data were analyzed using chi-square test in SPSS software. Results: Among the participants, 82 individuals were medical students, 44 were dentistry students, 53 were nursing and midwifery students, and 121 were paramedical students. In addition, 173 subjects were women and 127 were men. Moreover, 49.3% of students had dental fear and 24.8% had dental anxiety. Among women, 32.4% had dental anxiety and 54.3% had dental fear, while among men, 14.2% had dental anxiety and 40.2% had dental fear. Conclusions: According to the obtained results, variables such as sex, marital status, field of education, history of dental visit, painful previous treatments, and dental anxiety in the family had an effect on DAS-R and DFS scores. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between DMFT index and level of fear and anxiety; with the increasing of dental fear and anxiety, DMFT also increased.