Caries Prevalence in 12-year-old Children from Plovdiv - a Multifactorial Regression Analysis

Dental caries is among the most important social diseases. The changes in caries prevalence occurring in different regions provide important information about the influence of etiological factors – primary and secondary, and about understanding the connections between the factors themselves.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of dental caries in 12-year-old children from Plovdiv, Bulgaria and the effect of etiological factors – single-factor and multifactorial influence.

The study included 228 children divided into 2 groups: group 1 - children living in the city of Plovdiv, city proper (125 children), and group 2 - children living in the surrounding villages (103 children). A questionnaire with an attached written consent form for clinical examination was completed by the parents of each child with results recorded in the WHO Oral Health Assessment Form for Children. Statistical analysis of the recorded data was used to determine DMFT index for the two groups, percentage of caries-free children and the influence of etiological factors through regression analysis.

Statistical analysis showed the DMFT scores as follows - 1.568 for city proper, 2.917 for surrounding villages. The caries-free children were 38.4% and 17.5% for group 1 and group 2, respectively. OHI is the highest predicting factor in a multifactorial regression analysis with over 19% predictive function.

There was statistically significant difference in caries prevalence and percentage of caries-free children between the city proper and the surrounding villages. Etiological factors have specific influence in the investigated age group.