Prevalence of Caries in Permanent First Molars Among Children with and Without Caries on Primary Teeth- A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Dental caries in the form of early childhood caries is more prevalent in children. Severe form of caries extending throughout the coronal structure in the root can result in tooth pain. Children presenting with class II caries have been exposed to caries involving the pulp. Early childhood caries is one of the most infectious diseases of childhood having a chronic progression rate resulting in the destruction of tooth structure. Permanent first molars are the first permanent teeth to erupt in the oral cavity at 6 years of age and have a higher rate of caries pattern than other teeth. This is associated with unusual dietary patterns and improper feeding patterns in children with prolonged use of baby bottles for milk feeding. Caries in children was mainly caused by the bacteria Streptococcus mutans. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of caries in permanent teeth in children with and without caries in primary teeth. A retrospective study was carried out using digital records of 875 subjects, irrespective of the gender. These data were collected from DIAS and coded in MS Excel sheets. The collected data was analysed by computer software SPSS version 21 using Chi square test and graphical illustration was done. From the above study, it was found that the high caries prevalence was seen in permanent teeth without caries in the primary teeth in males (52.33%) and predominantly in the 6-9 years age group. Therefore, it can be concluded that permanent molars in children are a source of caries than the primary teeth and awareness should be created on dental caries among school children and parents.