Caries experience in Latvian nursery school children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Dentistry
• Public Health

Background:

• Dental caries prevalence and severity in preschool children are critical public health concerns.
• Understanding caries patterns in early childhood is essential for developing effective prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the dental health status of Latvian nursery school children aged 3-4 years in 1993.
• To identify the prevalence of caries, decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) index, and recurrent caries.
• To explore potential associations between oral hygiene practices, fluoride use, parental education, and caries experience.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 631 Latvian nursery school children aged 3 and 4 years.
• Dental health assessment including caries prevalence, dmft index, and restoration status.
• Data collection on toothbrushing habits, fluoride dentifrice use, and parental education levels.

Main Results:

• 48% of 3-year-olds and 26% of 4-year-olds were caries-free. Mean dmft was 3.2, with molar caries dominating (66%).
• 16% of children had restorations, and 38% of these showed recurrent caries, more frequent in younger children.
• No significant associations were found between caries experience and toothbrushing frequency, fluoride dentifrice use, or parental education.

Conclusions:

• Dental caries, especially molar decay, was highly prevalent in Latvian preschoolers in 1993.
• Recurrent caries presented a significant challenge, particularly in younger age groups.
• Current oral hygiene practices and parental education levels did not show a protective association with caries experience in this cohort.