Journal of Dental Medicine

Background and Aim: Extensive studies on the epidemiology of teeth and oral diseases are an important part of health care programs specially for hearing impaired groups. For adequate programming in this field, proper situation analysis is mandatory. The aim of this study was to assess the DMFT (decayed missed filled teeth) of 12 years old students attending hearing impaired schools in Tehran and exploring the relation between sex, hygiene and hearing threshold with the index.

Materials and Methods: This cross sectional descriptive study was based on examining 12 years old (± 6 month) students (117 cases) attending hearing impaired schools in Tehran. A questionnaire was filled for each case. T, Chi-square and Kruskall-Wallis tests were used to analyze the results with p<0.05 as the limit of significance.

Results: The mean DMFT in these students was 3.07. Mean DMFT in students with very severe hearing loss was 2.99. Mean ranked DMFT in girls and boys was similar (56.09 in boys and 61.96 in girls). Mean ranked DMFT in students who didn’t use floss (66.40) was higher than those who used floss (46.71). Mean ranked DMFT in students who seldom brushed, was the highest (72.82) and in students who brushed once a day was the lowest (51.26).

Conclusion: The DMFT index in hearing disabled children was 3.07. Regular brushing and flossing reduced the index.

Background and Aim: Diagnosis of occlusal caries in early stages is more difficult than other types, and  needs practical proficiency and accuracy as well as application of advanced and modern equipments. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variations among dentists in diagnosis of occlusal caries.

Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, 6 permanent first molar teeth of 8-10 years old children with occlusal caries of 1, 2 and 3 degrees were selected (Espelid method). Color photographs and bitewing radiographs of teeth were displayed on computer monitor and 157 general dentists were asked to determine the existence and depth of caries. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and chi-square test. P<0.05 was considered as the level of significance.

Results: 94% of dentists did not diagnose any lesion in grade I caries.3.8% reported enamel caries (correct diagnosis) and 1.9% reported dentin caries. In grade II caries, 15.7% of dentists could not diagnose any caries, 60.7% recognized the caries at the level of enamel (correct diagnosis), and 22.31% reported the dentin level, and 1.3% reported pulp exposures.7% of dentists could not diagnose any caries in grade III, while 27.2% recognized lesions at enamel and 58.9% at dentin level (correct diagnosis), 6.1% of dentists reported pulp exposures and 0.3% did not respond. Female dentists showed significantly higher correct diagnosis compared to males (p=0.013).

Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, despite considerable variations among general dentists in diagnosis of occlusal caries, the total accuracy was acceptable.