[Dental caries experience in children at public and private schools from a city with fluoridated water].
The aim of this study was to verify the relationship between type of school as a measure of socioeconomic conditions and caries prevalence among preschoolers and schoolchildren in Rio Claro, São Paulo State, Brazil, a city with fluoridated water supply. The data were secondary, from a sample of 888 children 5 to 12 years old enrolled in private and public schools. Caries was measured by the dmft and DMFT indices as well as the Care index. Qui-square and Mann-Whitney tests were utilized with 5% significance. In 5-year-old children, mean dmft was 2.50, and 42.20% were caries-free. At age 12, mean DMFT was 2.70 and 28.90% were caries-free. Caries prevalence rates in public schoolchildren as compared to private were 74.50% and 61.20%, respectively (p < 0.0001), and the dmft and DMFT scores were the highest in public schoolchildren (p < 0.05). The Care Index was higher in private schoolchildren (71.20%) as compared to public (52.80%). Highest caries rates were found among public schoolchildren, so the variable type of school proved sensitive for discriminating different oral health conditions; however limitations need to be recognized, suggesting that other variables should be assessed.
Hoffmann
Rosana Helena Schlittler
RH
Departamento de Odontologia Social, Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Piracicaba, Brasil.
Cypriano
Silvia
S
Sousa
Maria da Luz Rosário de
Mda L
Wada
Ronaldo S
RS
D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005457:Fluoridation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017149:Private Sector; D017150:Public Sector; D012923:Social Class; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013334:Students