Dental Health Status of Junior High Schools Students; Golpaygan City, Iran

Aims Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index plays a key role in health care decisionmaking.According to WHO guideline, DMFT should not be more than 1 in 12-year oldchildren. The role of fluoride intake in tooth and bone health is also well known. This studywas carried out to investigate the DMFT index in junior high school students of GolpayganCity, Iran, and its relation the Fluoride concentration of drinking water.Instrument & Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in all530 junior high school students of Golpaygan City, Iran, during 2010-11. The DMFT indexwas determined by educated and trained mouth and teeth health experts. The Fluorideconcentration was measured by SPADNS method from 4 different places in 2 different times,May and June (4 samples each). Data were analyzed by statistical descriptive methods andone-way ANOVA test.Findings DMFT was 3.07±2.34 in boys and 3.28±2.56 in girls (p=0.34). There were nosignificant differences between boys and girls in the averages of decayed (p=0.95), missing(p=0.89) and filled (p=0.13) teeth. There was a significant difference in the DMFT value ofthe different age groups. There was also a significant difference between the DMFT valuesaccording to mothers’ level of education. The average of Fluoride concentration in watersamples of 4 different places of the region in 2 period of times was 0.33±0.09mg/l.Conclusion DMFT index in the students of Golpaygan City, Iran, is more than WHO standards.

Keywords:

Fluoride , DMF index , Drinking Water , Dental Health Services