CARIES EXPERIENCE IN URBAN SAUDI SCHOOLGIRLS

Objectives: To study the point prevalence and ''care-index'' of dental caries among Saudi public schoolgirls aged 12-14 years. Design and se tting: A cross-sectional study of 281 Saudi schoolgirls randomly selec ted from the primary public schools in Dammam city. Intervention: Dent al examination according to standard methods recommended by the World Health Organization. Results: The point prevalence of dental caries in the studied sample was 79.7% and the decayed, missing and filled teet h index (DMFT) was found to be 2.78 (SD 2.23). The first molars were m ore frequently affected (38.9%) compared to the other types of teeth. No significant variation in DMFT scores was observed by age. Of the to tal carious teeth, there were more decayed teeth (95%) than missing (2 6%) and filled teeth (17%). The ''care-index'' in the study population was very low (7.4%) indicating limited restorative dental care. Visit s to a dentist for professional prophylaxis were reported by only 4.6% girls. Conclusions: Lack of dental health awareness and a high preval ence of dental caries among schoolgirls (12-14 years of age) calls for primary health centers and school health services to play an active r ole in prevention and timely treatment.