Dental caries in rural and urban black preschoolchildren

Abstract

The dentitions of 439 rural and 192 urban black children aged 1-5 yr were examined with mirror and probe. Dental caries was common and the percentage prevalence and dmft [decayed-missing-filled teeth] values were similar in children of 1-3 yr in both groups. At 4 yr there was a 2-fold increase in dental caries in the urban children to reach a dmft score significantly greater than that in the rural children (P < 0.01). Labial caries was common in rural children but rare in urban children while rampant caries (dmft .gtoreq. 5) exhibited the opposite pattern.