title: Caries experience in Latvian nursery school children.
abstract: In 1993 the dental health was assessed in 631 Latvian 3--4-yr-old nursery school children. Forty-eight percent of the 3-yr-olds and 26% of the 4-yr-olds were caries free. The mean dmft for the total sample was 3.2 (2.2 and 3.8 in the 3-and 4-yr-olds, respectively). Molar caries, accounting for 66% of the total dmft score, was dominant in both age groups. Sixteen percent of the children had received restorations, 38% of which manifested recurrent caries. Recurrent caries was relatively more frequent in the younger children. Concomitant with a general increase in caries level, the polarization of the disease was less pronounced in the older children. The upper 25% of the distribution for 3- and 4-yr-olds contained 74% and 40% of the dmft, respectively. Daily toothbrushing was reported for 60% of the children. Of those, 38% used fluoride-containing dentifrice. No significant associations were found between caries experience and toothbrushing frequency, use of fluoride dentifrice or parents' education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics, Faculty of Odontology, Göteborg University, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bjarnason
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Care
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berzina
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brinkmane
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rence
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mackevica
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paeglite
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Senakola
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007844:Latvia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012008:Recurrence; D012423:Rural Health; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D005459:Fluorides