CARIES PREVALENCE AND ORAL HYGIENE IN LITHUANIAN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Contrary to what is observed in many Western societies, the caries pre valence among children and adolescents in the Baltic States remains hi gh. The aims of the present study were to describe the caries prevalen ce and oral hygiene among 7-, 12-, and 15-year-old Lithuanians and to correlate the caries prevalence with fluoride content in the dr inking water, oral hygiene, gender, ethnicity, and pattern of sugar consumpt ion. The investigation was based on cluster samples, and the clinical investigation was performed in accordance with criteria defined by WHO . High DMFT values were registered (mean DMFT = 1.3 among 7-year-olds; DMFT = 4.9 among 12-year-olds and 7.0 among 15-year-olds) and were as sociated with low fluoride content in the drinking water and poor oral hygiene. Girls showed higher DMFT values than boys. No correlation be tween pattern of sugar consumption and caries prevalence could be disc losed.