Prevalence of untreated dental caries among the preschool children of Western Maharashtra

Optimum oral health is required to eat, socialize without discomfort or embarrassment. Untreated dental caries is a common problem faced by the population in developing countries affecting the development of the child. A cross sectional study was conducted among 3 to 5 years old preschool children to evaluate the prevalence of dental caries and consequences of untreated dental caries. Dental caries was measured using ‘dmf’ and ‘pufa’ index. Descriptive statistics was computed to assess the prevalence of the untreated dental caries. Chi square test and z test were used to assess the statistical difference among the variable means in between the groups. Data was analyzed using SPSS ver 20.0. The prevalence of dental caries in the study population was 32% and that of the untreated dental caries with clinical consequences was 24%. There was no statistically significant difference between the genders for prevalence of untreated dental caries. The mean ‘dmf’ and ‘pufa’ scores increased over the ages of 3, 4 and 5 years in the study sample. ‘pufa’ index can be used as a useful epidemiological tool to assess the prevalence of untreated dental caries. Proportion of untreated dental caries was substantial which points to the need for diverting attention to care of deciduous dentition.