The pathfinder study among schoolchildren in the Republic of Moldova: dental caries experience

The aim of the present research was to evaluate the current caries experience of schoolchildren in the Republic of Moldova.

A pathfinder study was planned and executed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Caries experience was recorded in three large cities (the capital city and two other large cities) and four villages throughout the country. Within each site and age group, school clusters were randomly chosen. Three different age groups (6, 12 and 15 years) of schoolchildren were assessed.

Overall, 1,100 children were examined: 724 from cities and 376 from the villages. Among the study population, 408 (37.1%) were female and 692 (62.9%) were male, 380 were 6 years of age, 365 were 12 years and 355 were 15 years. The prevalence of caries experience [decayed, missing and filled scores of > 1 for primary (dmft) and secondary (DMFT) teeth] was 87.4% (dmft score = 3.9 ± 3.0) for 6-year-old participants, 77.53% (DMFT score = 2.7 ± 2.3) for 12-year-old participants and 86.2% (DMFT score = 3.7 ± 2.9) for 15-year-old participants. For the 12-year group, a higher proportion of caries-free children were detected in urban areas than in rural areas (25.5% vs. 15.5%, P = 0.003). We found more caries-free participants among 12-year-olds than among 15-year-olds (22.5% vs. 13.8%, P = 0.004).

These WHO key index age groups may be inserted into the global oral health databank and provide a 'pathfinder' baseline for formulating and conducting future public oral health programmes in the Republic of Moldova, with an emphasis on children in rural locations.