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Declining prevalence of dental caries in school children in Singapore
Author(s) -
Lo GL,
Bagramian RA
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
oral diseases
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.953
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1601-0825
pISSN - 1354-523X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1601-0825.1997.tb00023.x
Subject(s) - medicine , christian ministry , permanent dentition , dental health , dentistry , environmental health , public health , dentition , population , water fluoridation , demography , nursing , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , fluoride , philosophy , theology , sociology
OBJECTIVE: Dental health surveys of school children in Singapore from past decades were reviewed to document reductions in prevalence of dental caries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surveys were carried out in schools by the Dental Division, Ministry of Health in 1970, 1979, 1984, 1989 and 1994.A sample size of approximately 5000 school children representing 1.2% of the school population aged 6 to 18 years old was examined in each survey. RESULTS: Survey data showed an increase in the proportion of children free of caries in the permanent dentition from 30% in 1970 to 58.7% in 1994. The DMFT index for 6 to 18 year old children has dropped from 2.98 in 1970, 2.61 in 1979, 1.97 in 1984, 1.61 in 1989 to 1.05 in 1994. CONCLUSION: Fluoridation of public water supplies together with the adoption of preventive dental health programmes by the State and professional bodies is credited as the major factor in caries reduction.