Assessment of DMFT and enamel hypoplasia among junior high school children in Iran

Abstract

Aim: The main purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and enamel hypoplasia in 12-year old students in junior high school in Iran.

Materials and methods: This descriptive study was carried out in 2001 on 1,223 12-year old students, which were randomly selected in Yazd and Hadi-Shahr, Iran. A questionnaire was designed to record the status of the teeth along with the occupational and educational levels of parents. Data was analyzed using SPSS software, the Chi-square test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results: The mean DMFT score was 1.8 +/- 1.75 and 28.6% of the students were caries-free. There was no significant relationship between DMFT and the rate of dental caries with parents' education and occupation. The percentage of enamel hypoplasia was 32.7%. No statistically significant relationships were found between hypoplasia and DMFT with regard to gender. The relationship between enamel hypoplasia with DMFT score and dental caries was statistically significant.

Conclusion: In the present study findings for DMFT scores in 12-year old junior high school children are higher than global standards according to the World Health Organization (WHO) references for the year 2000. There was a strong association between enamel hypoplasia and dental caries, and this subject suggests early diagnosis of enamel defects, health education programs, and suitable treatments should be emphasized in junior high school-aged children.