title: The prevalence and treatment of dental caries among Israeli permanent force military personnel.
abstract: A survey was conducted to determine dental caries prevalence and treatment among 1,095 25- to 44-year-old permanent force Israeli military personnel. Caries experience, by decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT), was 11.66, with an average of 1.37 untreated caries, 2.40 extracted teeth, and 7.90 treated teeth. Caries was positively associated with age (p < 0.001). Females demonstrated statistically higher DMFT levels than males (p = 0.009). Negative associations were detected for education levels and untreated and extracted components (p < 0.001), and a positive association was detected for the treated caries component (p < 0.001). Permanent military personnel treated by private dentists exhibited 17.6% untreated caries, compared with 9.4% among personnel treated in the army. Officers had lower levels of untreated caries (8.6%) than others (13.3%). Among the present population, 77% had attended a dental clinic in the preceding 2 years. Permanent force personnel are offered free, comprehensive, and accessible dental treatment. The data emphasize a need for further dental health education.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University-Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Sgan-Cohen
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Horev
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Zusman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Eldad
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D003190:Comprehensive Dental Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008885:Military Dentistry / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution