Dental Caries Prevalence among 12-15 Year Old Palestinian Children

Objective. To measure the distribution of dental caries in a group of Palestinian adolescents. Material and Methods. A sample of 677 individuals of both sexes (411 were females and 266 were males) their ages ranged from 12 to 15 year old randomly selected from schools in northern west bank in Palestine. Clinical examination was performed on all the subjects focusing on the index DMFT, representing the number of teeth that were either decayed, missing or with extraction indicated, or restored. Results. The prevalence of dental caries in the permanent dentition was 54.35% and was the highest in 15 age 75.75% in comparison to the other ages (12, 13, and 14) (40.57%, 41.76%, and 60.47%), respectively. The mean DMFT for the sample was 5.39 ± 2.85525 while the mean DMFT for different age groups (12-15) was 5.52 ± 2.766, 5.58 ± 2.745, 5.23 ± 3.304, and 5.23 ± 2.606, respectively. The prevalence of dental caries was higher in females with DMFT 5.39 ± 2.854 than males with DMFT 5.26 ± 2.891. Conclusion. High prevalent dental caries was found among Palestinian adolescents and higher in females than males. Strict preventive programs should be implemented. Further research with large samples required to include all adolescents from Palestine.