Dental Research Journal (Jan 2019)

Comparative evaluation of two caries detection systems for detecting the prevalence of early childhood caries: A cross-sectional study

  • Mayura Tonpe,
  • Raju Umaji Patil,
  • Anagha Kadam,
  • Payal Bayad,
  • Vittaldas Shetty,
  • Vineet Vinay

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/1735-3327.261126
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 16, no. 4
pp. 221 – 224

Abstract

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Background: The early diagnosis of dental caries is very crucial to prevent tooth loss, which leads to serious consequences in preschool children. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic outcome by the World Health Organization (WHO) and WHO and early carious lesions (ECLs) (i.e., WHO + ECL) criteria for assessing early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, comparative study was conducted among 3–5 year old children (n = 358). Clinical examination was conducted using WHO and WHO + ECL criteria. The data were assessed using paired “t” test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There was statistically significant difference between the mean decayed, missing, or filled teeth recorded by the WHO + ECL and WHO (P < 0.05) method. Conclusion: It was concluded that WHO + ECL criteria were significant and more precise in assessing the presence of ECL in preschool children.

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