CARIOUS-MISSING-FILLED TEETH AND PERIODONTAL STATUS

Aims and Objectives: Objectives of thisstudy were to find the extent of dental and periodontal diseases in 12 – 15 years old school children and to find the corelation with the socioeconomic status, brushing habits and number of meals. Materials and Methods: 160 studentsof 12 – 15 years age of a government school were examined for this purpose and a proforma was filled forsocioeconomic status, food habits and brushing etc. The examination was performed in day light using a dental mirrorand a blunt probe. The records were made in the proforma by an assistant. Results: The DMFT was 1.67 in average.The poor group (N: 22) 2.4, the middle class (N: 132) 1.5 Those claiming once a day brushing showed better DMFTscore (1.8) while those claiming twice daily brushing had more DMFT score (2.1). More frequent meals were relatedto more DMFT (1.86) as compared to less frequent meals (0.8). The periodontal health was better in middlesocioeconomic status than the poor group. Once a day brushing and less frequent meals were related to better gums.Only 8.1 % of total 160 participants assessed were having healthy gums while 47% had zero DMFT score. Conclusion:Although the DMFT scores are not very high but there is a need to have dental education programs involving all strataof population for better understanding and better prevention of diseases. Brushing technique has to be taught moretactfully and elaborately so as to further minimize DMFT and to reduce periodontal problems.