title: Dental caries status of Chinese children in Johannesburg, South Africa.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the dental health status of a representative sample of Johannesburg Chinese schoolchildren, all 250 attending the only Chinese school in the city. In 18 preschoolchildren, 3--5 years old, 16.7% were caries-free, mean dmft was 7.1 +/- 5.8 and labial caries was present in 33.3%. In 165 primary schoolchildren aged 5--16 years, the mean dmft was 590 +/- 3.2 with 20% of the primary dentition caries-free and the mean DMFT was 2.4 +/- 1.9 4.8% of the primary schoolchildren were caries-free. In 67 high school pupils of 11--17 years, 4.5% were caries-free and the mean DMFT score was 7.1 +/- 3.9. Caries prevalences among the Chinese were similar to corresponding groups of children of Chinese immigrants in the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D013019:South Africa