title: Prevalence of non-cavitated and cavitated carious lesions in a random sample of 7-9-year-old schoolchildren in Montreal, Quebec.
abstract: This report describes the prevalence of non-cavitated and cavitated carious lesions in 911 randomly selected children in grades one through three on the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The criteria for diagnosis were developed for a longitudinal epidemiological study of restorative treatment decisions by dentists practising under a provincial dental insurance program for children. The intra- and inter-examiner reliability correlation coefficients of the two examiners were excellent (Kappa > or = 0.80). The most frequent carious lesion found in the examined children were non-cavitated carious lesions (incipient) within 1.5 of the gingival line on smooth tooth surfaces, and stained or non-cavitated carious lesions on pits and fissures. Out of 911 children in the study, 19.6% had sealants. Children whose parents completed a university education had a significantly lower prevalence of non-cavitated and cavitated carious lesions and fillings, and a significantly higher mean number of sealants than children whose parents had only primary school education. Education status of the parents was a significant risk marker of children with high caries experience and these children had a significantly higher mean number of non-cavitated carious lesions. This study has found that non-cavitated carious lesions are significantly more prevalent than cavitated carious lesions in children.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Brodeur
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gagnon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Payette
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Picard
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamalian
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olivier
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Eastwood
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003750:Dental Fissures / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors