Dental caries risk in scholars age 9 to 11 years old: Escuela Bilingüe El Ocaso, Panama

Abstract

Dental cavities are a multifactorial disease that consists in the demineralization of hard dental tissue, which is now days considered as one of the most prevalent oral disease [1]. This study was conducted with the purpose of providing information about cariogenic indexes of students age 9 to 11 years old attending Escuela Bilingue El Ocaso. This was a transversal descriptive study, applying intent sampling with quasi-quantitative methodology through a dental cavity risk instrument, using DMF index, dmf index and O’leary plaque control index. The results of this study showed that the total risk of acquiring dental cavities is very low (dmf= 0.5; DMF= 1.1). Nonetheless, the O’leary plaque control index turned out very high, with a 46% of dental plaque. In conclusion, it was pointed out that the dental cavity risk in scholars age 9 to 11 years old in Escuela Bilingue El Ocaso is very low according to dmf and DMF indexes, meanwhile, the risk of forming dental plaque showed by the O’Leary plaque control index is very high.