Salute orale in età pediatrica: studio della prevalenza di carie in provincia di Milano

Caries are a major problem of low- education and low-income families. In order to assess the need for “prevention” we’ve measured “caries free prevalence”, “dmft-DMFT”, “Community Parodontal Index” (CPI) and “Significant Caries index" (SiC) in Milano province. We’ve investigated a “simple random sample” of 6 and 12 years old (y.o.) children. Sixty seven percent of 6 y.o. children and 49% of 12 y.o. boys are “caries free”; 12 y.o. boys present a DMFT of 1.5. At 12 years, one third of boys suffers from 83% of all caries. This inequality is shown by the SiC, which scores 4. We found significantly higher prevalence of caries where father’s educational level was lower. Our effort should focus on the “at high risk for caries” sub group. Family paediatricians should screen for risk factors from 6 months of age onwards. Community paediatrician should monitor oral health indicators and feedback them to the community. Teachers should fill the gap of competence among children “at higher risk for caries”.