DENTAL CARIES EXPERIENCE AND TREATMENT NEED AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN IASI, USING ICDAS II CRITERIA

Aim: This study was set out to determine caries expe‐ rience, caries prevalence, dental treatment need in 6‐8 and 11‐13 year‐old school children in Iasi, using the Internati‐ onal Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS II). Materials and method: A cross‐sectional oral health sur‐ vey of school children (310 6‐8 yr‐old and 278 11‐13yr‐old ones, respectively) was conducted in Iasi in 2012. Clinical examinations were performed by a trained dentist using the ICDAS II system. Out of the 6‐8 year‐old patients (mean age: 7.3 years, SD: 0.53), 88.4% had caries experience (87.7% without carious lesions codes 1 and 2) with mean d1‐6mft and d3‐6mft of 5.12 (SD=3.16) and 4.94 (SD=3.11), respecti‐ vely. No gender differences in caries experience or in its components were found (p>0.05 in all cases). Among the 11‐13 year‐old ones (mean age: 12.7 years, SD: 0.52), 96.4% had caries experience (91.4% without carious lesions codes 1 and 2), with mean D1‐6MFT and D3‐6MFT of 5.27 (SD=3.66) and 4.04 (SD=2.88), respectively. Significant differences were observed in caries experience by gender, girls having the highest values of DMF at both levels. The ratio of first‐ and sixth‐grade children with treatment need was of 85.8% and 82.7%. Conclusions: Caries prevalence was very high in both age groups. The established carious lesions were the main contributors to children’s caries experience, with hardly any restorations or extraction, indicating an incre‐ ased need for preventive and restorative treatment in both age groups