DENTAL-CARIES PREVALENCE IN RELATION TO SOCIOECONOMIC-STATUS OF NURSERY-SCHOOL CHILDREN IN GOIANIA-GO, BRAZIL

The study was carried out to assess dental caries in the primary denti tion of pre-school children in Goiania-GO, Brazil, and to assess the i nfluence of socioeconomic status. The study population comprised 0-6-y r-old pre-school children (n=2267) attending public (low SES children) and private (higher SES children) nursery schools. Mean dmft and perc ent caries-free were 0.09 (96.4%) at 1 year and younger, 0.40 (87.3%) at 2,1.14 (69.9%) at 3,2.18 (49.5%) at 4,3.18 (36.1%) at 5, and 3.94 ( 29.4%) at age 6 years respectively. Caries prevalence was higher in th ose attending public nursery school than in those attending private sc hools (P<0.05). Amongst children from public nursery schools the highe st dmf component was untreated decay while in private nurseries it was filled teeth. The results indicate that social inequalities exist, wh ich influence dental caries experience. It was concluded that oral hea lth programmes for pre-school children emphasizing preventive measures and dental health education should be developed mainly in areas of so cial deprivation.