Epidemiological Survey of Occurrence of Dental Caries Among Children in Private VS Government Schools in Paonta Sahib, H.P. Dhall Rupinder Singh1,*, Bali Nishant2, Sharma Anuj3, Dhall Sunita4, Bhargav Gaurav Shree5, Renuka6 1Professor, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P., India 2Senior Lecturer, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P., India 3Senior Lecturer, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P., India 4Former Resident, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P., India 5Post Graduate student, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P., India 6Post Graduate student, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P., India *Address for Correspondence: Dr. Rupinder Singh Dhall, Professor, Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology, Himachal Institute of Dental Sciences, Rampurghat Road, District Sirmour, Paonta Sahib, H.P, India, E-mail: rsdhall@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 18 May, 2016. Abstract Introduction Dental caries occurrence in children is variable with different socioeconomic background and is also influenced by the gender and age group of the child. Aim The purpose of the study were to assess and compare the prevalence of dental caries in children of private schools and government schools of Paonta sahib, H.P and to provide information to health authorities to plan appropriate preventive and curative programs for schools. Materials and Methods A cross sectional study was conducted among 13–17 years old school children of 2 private(GROUP-1) and 2 government schools(GROUP-2) of Paonta Sahib, H.P. The caries status was recorded by using WHO methodology 1997. The total sample size was 428 students. Plain mouth mirror and dental explorer were used for the clinical examination of the children. All the data collection was done by a single examiner. Results In group 1 the caries prevalence was 84% and in group 2 it was 88.67%. The mean DMFT in group 1 was 3.78 and group 2 was 4.72. In private school among male and female students the mean DMFT index of females was 4.09 which was higher than male students(3.56). In both private and government schools caries-free males were 18–19% and females were 8–12%. Conclusion Determining the prevalence of dental caries in public and government school students in Rural, Himachal Pradesh, will provide us with baseline data that is necessary for planning of intervention programs in schools. Top Keywords Dental caries, DMFT index. Top |