Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the consequences of untreated dental caries in relation to some characteristics of 3-6 year-old children using the pufa index.
Methods: The data were obtained from a study in which the oral health, nutritional status, and anthropometric measurements of the preschool aged children were surveyed. Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the Hacettepe University Non-Interventional Clinical Researches Ethics Board. Permission was obtained from the parents of the children involved and from the relevant educational authorities. The target population was all preschool children, aged 36 - 71 months (n=1019) in a district of Ankara. However, due to some parents not giving consent and the absence of some children from school, 729 children participated in the study. A trained resident from the Paediatric Dentistry Department of Hacettepe University Faculty of Dentistry performed the oral examinations of the children. Intra-examiner variability was checked (Kappa value was 88%, p<0,001). The pufa index was used for evaluating the clinical oral mucosal consequences of untreated dental caries. Pulpal involvement (p), ulceration because of the dislocated tooth fragments (u), fistula existence (f), and abscess formation (a) were recorded. The data were analysed by using SPSS 16.0 programme. Results: Of the children, 12.9% (n=94) had pufa symptoms. The highest pufa score for one child was 6. The primary mandibular left second molar was the tooth most commonly found to have pulpal involvement (p). The primary maxillary right central incisor was the tooth most commonly to have a fistula (f). Having a pufa score of at least one was statistically significantly more likely in males (15.8%, n=64, p= 0.008) than females, and in children aged 60-71 months (17.7%, n= 69, p<0.001) than 36-47 and 48-59 months. Higher pufa scores were seen in children whose mothers and fathers had a lower educational level than Lycee (secondary education) (16.9%, n=50, p=0.010 for fathers and 17.7%, n=46, p=0.001 for mothers ) and in children whose mothers had self-assessed untreated caries (17.7%, n=56, p=0.001),who were of middle- and low socio-economical status (14.7%, n=79, p=0.013) were found to be significantly related to pufa experience.
Conclusions: In the group of 3-6-year-olds studied, a surprisingly high proportion of children with untreated dental caries had pufa symptoms. It is necessary to highlight the need for preventive dentistry and dental caries management in the primary dentition.
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