Dental caries status of the Lisu and Han preschool children

Abstract

Objectives: To compare the dental caries status of the Lisu and Han ethnic preschool children in Yunnan, China, and to study the factors affecting their oral health status. Methods: A sample of Lisu and local Han children aged 5 years old was selected using a cluster sampling method. Two calibrated dentists examined the participants with dental mirrors and CPI probes under artificial light. Dental caries was measured using dmft index. Oral health education was provided to all participating children. A questionnaire survey was conducted on the children and their parents to study their related oral health behaviours. Results: A total of 762 5-year-old children were examined, including 404 Lisu and 358 Han children. Local Han children shouldered higher caries prevalence than that of the Lisu children, with 83% versus 77%, respectively, while the two ethnic minority children had similar dmft scores (5.5 vs. 5.0). Most of their caries (80%) were left untreated. There were still around one fourth (21%) of the children didn’t or seldom brushing their teeth, and visible plaque was found almost on all of them. A multi-factor ANCOVA analysis found that the children who lived in Kunming, Chuxiong, Nujiang and Diqing districts, who had visited the dentist within the last two years, had higher VPI scores had higher mean dmft scores. Conclusions: Dental caries was prevalent in both Lisu and local Han children. The children’s caries experience was associated with geography, oral hygiene and the child’s dental visit behaviour, but not ethnicity.