Dental caries status of preschool children in Hong Kong

Objective: To describe the dental caries status of preschool children in Ho ng Kong and factors which affect their caries status. Design 658 preschool children aged 4 to 6 years from six randomly selected kindergartens in Hong Kong were surveyed in December 1997. A questionnaire to investigate possible explanatory variables for caries status was complet ed by their parents. Dental caries was diagnosed according to the criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (1997). Result Caries experience as measured by the mean number of decayed, missing and filled primary teeth (dmft) of the 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children wer e found to be 0.9, 1.8, and 3.3 respectively. Overall, 61% of the children had a zero dmft score. Children born in Mainland China had a higher mean dm ft score (4.6) than those born in Hong Kong (1.4). Statistically significan t correlations were found between the children's dental caries status and t heir oral health practices as well as their socio-economic background. Pare nts' education level, dental knowledge and attitudes were also associated w ith the children's dental caries experience. Conclusion In general, the caries status of Hong Kong Chinese preschool chi ldren was similar to that of children in industrialised countries and was b etter than that of children in the nearby areas. However, special dental pr ogrammes should be made available to children from lower socio-economic cla sses and new immigrants from Mainland China because they are the high risk groups for caries in Hong Kong.