Dental caries experience in the Chiangmai/Lamphun provinces of Thailand

Thailand has a highly developed system of primary health care. Using the criteria and methods recommended by W.H.O., an oral health survey was undertaken of 2111 subjects from six districts with different types of dental service including two with no systematic service and two with ICOH-trained primary oral health care personnel - examiners, health educators and village scalers. Significant differences between districts, unrelated to the type of dental service, were found in the percent of children with caries-free primary teeth and in mean dmft at ages 5 and 6; and at ages 5-6, 12, 17-18 and 35-44 (but not 15-16) in the percent of subjects with caries-free permanent teeth. The prevalence of DMFT was uniformly low ranging from 0.0 at age 6 to 1.18 at age 35-44. There was an inverse relationship between CFI and DMFT in subjects aged 12-18 and a direct relationship between dental fluorosis and the fluoride content of well-water used for cooking and drinking. The most conspicuous feature of the data was the much greater prevalence of caries in the primary dentition with heavy involvement of the maxillary incisors. Comparisons with the Thai and International Goals for Oral Health by the Year 2000 show that all except two districts have already achieved the Thai, but not the FDI/WHO, Goal for 5-6-yr-olds with caries-free primary teeth and, except for one district, all of the national and international goals with respect to the status of the permanent dentition have also been achieved.