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Dental Caries Prevalence and Treatment among Navajo Preschool Children
Author(s) -
O'Sullivan David M.,
Douglass Joanna M.,
Champany Richard,
Tetrev Steve,
Tinanoff Norman,
Eberling Suzanne
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of public health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1752-7325
pISSN - 0022-4006
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1994.tb01205.x
Subject(s) - navajo , medicine , early childhood caries , population , dentistry , head start , oral health , pediatrics , environmental health , philosophy , linguistics , psychology , developmental psychology
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the dental health of Navajo preschool children, a population about whom little dental information is published. Methods : Caries data were collected and analyzed for 2,003 Navajo children aged 3–5 years in the Head Start program, and for a convenience sample of 115 children younger than three years old from the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. Results : Each age group had an extremely high mean dmfs; however, as much as 70 percent of this index comprised treated surfaces. Maxillary anterior caries was observed in the WIC children under two years of age and posterior proximal caries was observed as early as two years of age. The prevalence of maxillary anterior caries reached a maximum of 68 percent in the three‐year‐old Head Start children, and may be associated with the high level of posterior caries in this population. Conclusions : Most children in this population may be considered at risk for developing caries. This Navajo preschool population has perhaps the earliest caries onset, among the highest caries prevalence, and among the highest level of treatment of any reported population.