[Dental caries activity in primary dentition, Indaiatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, 2004]

This study aimed to verify caries activity and analyze caries experience, treatment needs, and enamel defects in 5-year-old preschool children in Indaiatuba, São Paulo State, Brazil. 624 children were selected by systematic random sampling in 2004. WHO criteria were used to measure caries experience and treatment needs. Nyvad et al. diagnostic criteria were used to analyze caries activity. Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests were used to analyze the results, with 5% significance. 40.5% of schoolchildren displayed caries activity. The dfmt was 1.62 (95%CI: 1.35-1.89). Among children with dfmt > 0, the index was 3.81 (95%CI: 3.36-4.26), and 91.4% of these children presented caries activity. Care Index was 12.3%. These results suggest that treatment measures and health promotion should continue to be prioritized, since the control measures and caries interruption during the initial stages are well known. Dental care should especially target schoolchildren with more significant caries experience.