Abstract
Children who have caries in their primary teeth in infancy or as toddlers tend to develop additional dental decay in their primary teeth and are more likely to experience caries in their permanent teeth after they erupt. According to the 2000 National Oral Health Survey, the estimated percentage of Korean children who experienced dental caries in primary teeth was 83.3%among 5-year-olds. Thus a systemic approach to solve this problem in Korea is needed. Due to the complex and multifactorial etiology of dental caries, it is generally thought that a multiple approaches are needed. The incipient lesion is a "white spot", which occurs on the surface of the enamel as a result of acid-induced demineralization occurring beneath the enamel surface. Noncavitated incipient lesions in smooth tooth surfaces are more preventable than cavitated caries lesions in primary teeth. From this viewpoint, early detection of dental caries, especially in preschool children, is important. The aim of this study was to obtain information concerning the prevalence and tooth surface distribution of incipient lesions in preschool children. Three hundred and twenty children between the ages of 3 and 5 who lived in non-fluoridated areas, Kuro-gu, Seoul, were enrolled in this study. The. presence of white spot lesions, caries in which the enamel was clearly cavitated and the dentin exposed were recorded for each tooth surface using NIDCR standard criteria. The obtained results were as follows; 1. 28% of the children had at least one incipient lesion in their mouth, the incidence was decreased with age. 2. 47% of the children had cavitated caries lesions. 3. Most of the incipient lesion were found in the maxillary anterior teeth and posterior teeth, 23% of the children had one to three incipient lesions. In summary, our results indicate that dental caries including incipient lesions was highly prevalent among these surveyed children. Appropriate caries preventive programs are required for preschool children in Kuro-gu, Seoul.