Ranking countries by dental status using the DMFT and FS-T indices.
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that the DMFT index does not adequately reflect the dental status as well as the FS-T index by comparing the country rankings of the DMFT and the FS-T indices in 18 and 35-44 year-olds in a range of countries. The FS-T is the number of filled or sound teeth and is a measure of functional status.


METHODS
The DMFT data from WHO for 18-year-olds and 35-44-year-olds was used and FS-T index values were estimated for the 18-year-olds for 12 countries and for 35-44 age groups for 30 countries.


RESULTS
The ranking by DMFT index scores was lower for developed countries than for developing countries. Despite the relatively high DMFT index in developed countries, their FS-T index was higher and therefore the developed countries ranked higher by FS-T compared to their ranking by DMFT.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that it may be more useful to use the FS-T index with the DMFT index in studies comparing dental status between countries.
Namal
Necmi
N
necminamal@yahoo.com necminamal@yahoo.com
Vehid
Suphi
S
Sheiham
Aubrey
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004245:DMF Index; D019049:Developed Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D009909:Oral Health