DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2017.v05i03.007

Pages: 174-177

Dental caries is a multifactorial disease. The prevalence and incidence of it in a population is influenced by various risk factors such as age, sex, socioeconomic status, sugar exposures and oral hygiene habits. Hence, the present study was designed to assess the prevalence of dental caries in school going children in urban and rural areas of Mahabubnagar district between 5 to 12 year age groups. Material & Methods: A total of 1000 children aged 5-12 years were selected from 8 schools located in different geographic areas of Mahabubnagar. Children were divided into two age groups, Group I – 5-8 years, Group II – 9-12 years. A trained dental surgeon using DMFT/deft index to diagnose dental caries performed the clinical examinations. Results: Among the two groups, Group I, showed high mean values (1.90) for dental caries in primary dentition and Group II, showed high mean values (1.48) in permanent dentition. In both the groups, decayed teeth accounted for the greatest percentage. Conclusion: The prevalence of dental caries was high in permanent dentition in group II and in group I, it was high in primary dentition. Rural areas of Mahabubnagar district were affected more with caries compared to urban areas.