Summary. The objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and severity of early childhood caries (ECC) and severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) in (SD, 0.2). The prevalence of S-ECC was 6.5% with a mean dmft of 7.8 (SD, 0.1) and dmfs of 18.1 (SD, 0.6). A significantly higher percentage of children developed S-ECC when they were breast-fed for a period longer than one year, were sleeping with a bottle containing carbohydrates during the night, or were allowed to sip from a bottle either going to sleep or during the day. A significantly higher percentage of mothers having caries-free children knew about risk factors of S-ECC and started tooth brushing after the eruption of the first tooth.There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the use of fluoride toothpaste.Conclusions. Improper infant bottle-feeding habits and no tooth brushing were found to be significant for the development of S-ECC among 3-year-old Lithuanian children.

We investigated the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis, and the occurrence of dental caries, among 12-yr-old children from high- and low-fluoride areas in a country with high caries figures and a developing oral healthcare system. The sample included a total of 600 lifetime residents from high-fluoride (HF; 1.7-2.2 ppm) and low-fluoride (LF; 0.2 ppm) areas in Lithuania. The diagnoses of dental fluorosis followed the Thylstrup-Fejerskov Index (TF), and a diagnosis of dental caries followed the World Health Organization criteria. In the HF area, 66% of the 12-yr-old children had dental fluorosis (TF score > 0) compared with 4% in the LF area. The maximum TF severity scores were 7 and 3, respectively. The mean number of teeth with fluorosis was 4.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 4.0, 5.0] for the HF group and 0.2 (95% CI = 0.1, 0.2) for the LF group. In the HF group, 72% had a decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT) score of > 0, compared with 87% in the LF group. The mean DMFT was 2.0 (95% CI = 1.8, 2.3) in the HF group and 3.5 (95% CI = 3.2, 3.8) in the LF group. Current untreated caries (DT) occurred (DT >0) in half of both the HF and LF groups. Regardless of the concentration of fluoride in the drinking water, the prevalence of past (DMFT > 0) and present (DT > 0) caries was high, calling for more emphasis on the prevention of tooth decay in countries, such as Lithuania, with high caries figures and a developing oral healthcare system.

Objective. To analyze the dynamics of prevalence and severity of dental caries among 12-and 15-year-old schoolchildren in six regions of Lithuania.Material and methods. A total of 5910 schoolchildren aged 12 and 15 years were examined. Dental caries was diagnosed according to the criteria of World Health Organization. The prevalence of dental caries was calculated by dividing the number of children with caries by the number of all children examined and expressed as percentage. Severity of dental caries was described by DMF-T index. DMF-T indices of individual persons as well as each age group were determined. Oral hygiene was evaluated by a simplified oral hygiene index. Fluoride concentration in Kretinga was 1.6-2.2 ppm; in the other regions, it varied between 0.2 to 0.4 ppm.Results. The prevalence of dental caries among 12-year-olds was 88.4% in 1983 and 85.5% in 2005; among 15-year-olds, it was 95.5% and 92.9%, respectively. Mean DMF-T score decreased from 4.5 (in 1983) to 3.7 (in 2005) among 12-year-olds and from 6.4 (in 1983) to 5.6 (in 2005 among 15-year-olds. Oral hygiene index decreased from 1.69 in 1983 to 1.34 in 2005 among 12-year-olds and from 1.46 to 1.22 among 15-year-olds, respectively.Conclusions. A tendency towards decrease in the prevalence and severity of dental caries was observed, when caries prevention program was running. Correlation between oral hygiene and DMF-T was observed in both age groups. Decreased prevalence and intensity of dental caries among 12-and 15-year-olds were associated with improved oral hygiene, usage of fluoride toothpaste, and fluoride content in drinking water.

ĮvadasDantų ėduonis -viena labiausiai paplitusių burnos ligų, pažeidžiančių vaikų kramtomąjį aparatą. Ši liga būdinga visiems vaikų amžiaus tarpsniams ir yra neatsiejama nuo bendrosios organizmo būklės. Vaikų burnos ligos, ypač ėduonis, paplitusios visame pasaulyje, tačiau jų intensyvumas įvairiose populiacijose skiriasi (1).Lietuvoje atlikti epidemiologiniai tyrimai parodė, kad 12 metų vaikų dantų ėduonies intensyvumas, išreiškiamas KPI (ėduonies pažeistų, plombuotų ir išrautų dantų skaičius, tenkantis vienam individui) indeksu, svyruoja nuo 1,9±2,1 iki 4,5±3,8 (2). Ėduonis dažniausiai pažeidžia dantų paviršiuje esančias vageles ir duobeles. Įvairių šalių mokslininkų duomenimis, šios lokalizacijos ėduonis sudaro 50-88 proc. visų vaikų ir paauglių dantų ėduonies atvejų (3-5). Lietuvoje ši tendencija taip pat pastebima: net 69,4 proc. 7-8 metų vaikų krūminių dantų kramtomųjų paviršių yra pažeisti ėduonies (6).Įvairiose šalyse atlikti tyrimai rodo, kad pastangos išsaugoti burnos sveikatą būtų kur kas vaisingesnės, jei būtų kontroliuojamas nuolatinių dantų kramtomųjų paviršių ėduonies atsiradimas (7). Siekiant išvengti dantų ėduonies visose amžiaus grupėse, būtina rūpintis tinkama asmens burnos higiena, mityba, fluoro preparatų vartojimu (8-10). Dantų pasta su fluoridais padėjo labai sumažinti lygiųjų ir kontaktinių dantų paviršių ėduonies paplitimą. Deja, dėl anatominių savybių minėtos ėduonies profilaktikos priemonės dantų kramtomiesiems paviršiams nėra tokios veiksmingos (11,12). Todėl viena iš efektyviausių vaikų dantų ėduonies profilaktikos priemonių išlieka silantinės medžiagos, kaip mechaninio barjero, tarp danties emalio ir mikrobinio dantų apnašo bei burnoje susidarančių rūgščių (13). Jos užtikrina ką tik išdygusių dantų paviršiaus