Temporal changes in dental caries levels and patterns in a Native American preschool population.
OBJECTIVE
The purposes of this study were to assess current dental caries experience and levels of mutans streptococci in Apache children in 1993 and to determine how caries levels and patterns were different from 15 years before.


METHODS
Four-year-old Head Start children (n = 127) were examined for dental caries and sampled for salivary mutans streptococci in 1993. Dental caries information on 113 4-year-old children from the same location was obtained from a chart audit of the 1978-79 Head Start dental examinations.


RESULTS
Neither the caries prevalence (95%) nor the prevalence of caries patterns differed between the 1978-79 and 1993 cohorts. However, the level of treatment received in 1993 was greater than that in 1978-79. Children with nursing caries (64%) had a greater severity of fissure caries and a greater prevalence of posterior proximal caries compared with caries-positive children without nursing caries. The mean dmfs and dmft on the children categorized in the high mutans streptococci range were greater than those of children categorized in the moderate range.


CONCLUSIONS
The caries prevalence found in these preschool Native Americans is among the highest reported for this age group and does not differ from that found at this location 15 years before. It appears that children with nursing caries in this population are at greater risk for posterior caries patterns.
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington 06030-1610, USA. douglass@sun.uchc.edu
J M
JM
Douglass
D M
DM
O'Sullivan
N
N
Tinanoff
D001130:Arizona / Q000453:epidemiology; D001641:Bicuspid / Q000473:pathology; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects; D002662:Child Health Services; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D019230:Dental Audit; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D003750:Dental Fissures / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008963:Molar / Q000473:pathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology