Prevalence of Dental Caries in Children between 6 and 18 Years from City Sofia

Djema Grozdanova

Abstract: Aim. To determine the incidence of dental caries among a representative group of children at the age between 6 and 18 years from Sofia. Materials and Methods. The study includes 445 children who were assessed the prevalence of dental caries index of Klein, Palmer & Knutson (1938) - DMFT, taking into account the total number of teeth that are with caries (D), missing (M) or with restoration (F) for each individual. Results. The results showed that 67 % aged between 6 and 12 years, and 70 % of 13-18 years have been diagnosed with caries. The value of the index DMFT in both groups is from 1.88 to 3.6. Free from the caries are 33 % and 30 % from both groups. Conclusion. The number of children free of caries is still far from the number of those in the developed countries. The results show the need of preventive measures in order to improve dental health in children.

Keywords: DMFT index, dental caries, children