Characteristics of carious lesions of permanent teeth in 12-year-old children

Abstract

Background. The article deals with the characteristics of the condition of hard tissues of permanent teeth in children depending on the region of residence. Aim. To characterize the condition of the hard tissues of the teeth in 12-year-old children living in different districts of Bukovyna. Materials & Methods. 298 12-year-old children were examined in 13 schools in Chernivtsi region (78 children from Vyzhnytsky district, 74 from Chernivtsi, 146 from Dnistrovsky). The prevalence, intensity of caries, the index of the international caries detection and evaluation system were determined. Results & Conclusions. The incidence of caries in 12-year-old children was high in all regions: 88.46% in Vyzhnytsia, 84.50% in Dniestr and 84.89% in Chernivtsi districts. The high-est caries intensity values were found in children of the Vyzhnytsia District (3.39±0.21) affect-ed teeth, the lowest – in the examined children of the Dniester District – (2.88±0.28). In the structure of the "DMF" index (Decay-Missing-Filled), the "D" component prevailed in all regions. It is worth noting that the extracted teeth were from 0.34% to 1.76%. In all regions, the average level of intensity prevailed, but the share of children with a high level was also high, from 24.32% to 38.46%. The carious process is characterized not only by simultaneous carious lesions of different groups of teeth, but even several surfaces of one tooth. Half of all carious cavities (52.88%) were diagnosed on the chewing surface of the lateral teeth, 24.00% – on the contact surfaces of all groups of teeth, 14.49% – on the vestibular surface of the incisors, and 7.02% – on the oral surface of the lateral teeth incisors. As for the depth of the lesion, 53.56% of carious cavities were located on the enamel surface, 26.95% – in the thickness of the enamel, 19.47% part – within the medium-deep layers of dentin. The high prevalence of caries in children of Bukovyna region indicates the need to study the regional risk factors for the development of caries. Keywords: children, caries, prevalence, intensity, localization of caries, depth of damage.