Dental caries lesions activity assessment among 18-year-old Lithuanian adolescents

Abstract

Aim: The aim of study was to assess prevalence of active caries lesions, in association with gender, place of residence and oral hygiene status of 18-year-old Lithuanian adolescents. Methods: in 2014, a multistage sampling strategy was used to draw a representative sample of 1.063 18-year-old students of Lithuania. Dental examinations were performed following clinical Nyvad criteria for caries lesion activity assessment, under standardized conditions using portable dental equipment. Adolescents were examined by two trained and calibrated examiners to estimate surface-level dental caries experience. Active and inactive caries lesions (non-cavitated and cavitated) were recorded. Oral hygiene status was evaluated using Silness-Loe dental plaque index. Place of residence were classified as urban or rural. Kappa value for inter-examiner correlation was 0.92. The data were analyzed using t-test and χ2 criterion; with threshold for statistical significance at P < 0.05. Results: 98% of all study participants were affected by caries; 83% of all lesions recorded were active (non-cavitated or cavitated). Mean DMFS was 25.0 (SD, 13.2) One third of the mean caries experience consisted of active lesions (9.3 (SD, 9.7)), most of them (8.4 (SD, 9.1)) were noncavitated. Higher DMFS scores were estimated for boys than for girls (25.9 (SD, 13.9) vs. 24.2 (SD, 12.7)). No differences with respect to the mean numbers of active and inactive caries lesions were estimated between urban and rural residents. Boys had higher mean values of dental plaque index than girls (1.3 (SD, 0.7) vs. 1.1 (SD, 0.6)). Poor oral hygiene was associated with high number of active lesions. Conclusion: In conclusion, Lithuanian population of 18-year-olds was characterized by high prevalence of active caries lesions. Presence of dental plaque was associated with the number of active caries lesions.