PREVALENCE OF DENTAL-CARIES IN SCHOOL-CHILDREN IN AL-KHOBAR, SAUDI-ARABIA

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of dental caries among school children in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. From fourteen schools for boys and fourteen schools for girls, a sample size of 1,665 was studied. The prevalence of dental decay was 87.5 percent. The DMFT indices were 1.97 for permanent and 1.60 for primary teeth. It was concluded that dental caries is a major problem in the population surveyed, and that the need exists for planning and implementing preventive dental care in schools in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It is suggested that examination of children's teeth should become a routine part of medical examinations, especially in the schools.