Assessing clinical sequelae of untreated caries among 5-, 12-, and 15-year-old school children in ambala district: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Dental caries is a public health problem globally, especially in children. Thus, it is important to quantify its clinical consequences in terms of its prevalence and severity. Aim: This study aims to assess the prevalence and severity of oral conditions linked with untreated dental caries using pulp involvement, ulceration, fistula, abscess (pufa/PUFA) index in 5-, 12-, and 15-year-old school children in Ambala district. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 433 school children of 5-, 12-, and 15-year-old age group in Ambala district. Materials and Methods: In the present study, participants were recruited from randomly selected schools and were examined according to pufa/PUFA index and Oral Health Surveys Dentition Status. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS Software Version 20.0 (Chicago, USA). The statistical significance was determined by Chi-square test, and level of significance was set at P < 0.05. Correlation analysis was expressed in terms of Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Results: Caries prevalence was reported to be 58.4% while the prevalence of odontogenic infections was 45.3%. Untreated caries pufa/PUFA ratio among 5, 12, and 15 years old was 44.58%, 38.33%, and 36.18%, respectively. The care index among 5, 12, and 15 years old was 0, 3.31%, and 36.18% emphasizing the lack of utilization of dental services by school children. Conclusions: The use of PUFA/pufa index as an adjunct to the classical caries indices can address the neglected problem of untreated caries and its consequences.

Keywords

• Care index
• dentition status
• pufa/PUFA
• untreated caries pufa/PUFA ratio