A Study to assess the impact of the regular school dental care on the oral health status of adolescents in Maharagama and Nugegoda health areas
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Date
1992
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Publisher
Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo: PGIM .
Abstract
Present study eas undertaken with the prime objective of studying the impact of the regular school dental care on the oral health status of 15 years old adolescents. Studying the baseline oral health data for the age group was a specific objective. A radom sample of three hundred and thirty five students from schools situated in Maharagama and Nugegoda health areas were investigated for dental caries and periodontal disease. Decayed, missing and filled surfaces index and community prtiodontal index for treatment needs were used as indices. Sample was dicided into two groups on the basis of receiving the regular school dental care for at least 3 years. A moderate level of caries experience and a low level of periodontal conditions were observed for the age group. A mean DMFT of 3.1 and a prevalence of 81.1 percent, with a higher proportion of untreated caries were recorded. Mean DMFS was 5.64 with a median value of 4 inddicating the majority to have lower values than the mean value. Half of the dental caries experience of the sample was in first permanent molars. Approximately onr out of 8 indiciduals had their all 4 first molars affected by caries and one out of 4 had lost one or more first molar tooth. More than fifty percent of the lesions were on occlusal surfaces. Tooth loss was at a higher level than th expected level. Percentage of individuals with the full compliment of teeth was far below the global indicator for 18 year olds. Periodntal conditions were much better compared to that of 12 year olds in 1983/84. Percentage of persons with no gingival bleeding in all sextants. 5 percent of the sample exhibited pocket formation. 31 percent of the sample did not show any sign of periodontal condition and the mean number of healthy sextants per person was 3.85. A reduction in severity of dental caries was observed in students who had received a regular school dental care. However the number of occlusal surfaces affected were similar in both groups. There was a reduction in smooth surface caries among the students who received school dental care. Percentage of persons with tooth loss was low in students who had received regular dental care but much higher than globally expected level. Much lower values for periodontal conditions were observed in students with regular school dental care, with a general reduction in bleeding of gums and calculus in the total sample. However percentage of persons with pocket formation was significantly higher in students who had no regular school dental care. The effect of regular school dental care was much clear on periodontal disease than on dentalm caries.
Description
Dissertation: M.Sc.(Community Dentistry), Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo: PGIM , 1992.
Keywords
Dental health services
Citation
JAYASUNDARA BANDARA, JMW, A Study to assess the impact of the regular school dental care on the oral health status of adolescents in Maharagama and Nugegoda health areas, Post Graduate Institute of Medicine, Colombo PGIM , 1992: p.