Dental Caries Experience and Untreated Decay Among School Children
Department of Public Health Dentistry, Dental College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Corresponding Author: Sen B, Doctus Journal of Dentistry.
Abstract
We examined 1,206 children aged 6 to 12 across eleven schools using WHO criteria to record caries experience and the proportion left untreated. Caries was present in 62.4% of children, and 88% of affected teeth were untreated. The untreated fraction did not vary with caries severity, indicating that access rather than perceived need governs treatment. Twice-daily brushing was reported by 41% and was associated with lower severity but not lower prevalence. School-based sealant and atraumatic restorative programmes address the untreated fraction directly and are more likely to change outcomes here than further oral hygiene instruction alone.
Keywords
Dental Caries; School Children; Untreated Decay; Oral Health Survey; Sealants; Access to Care
How to Cite
Sen B and Pal D. “Dental Caries Experience and Untreated Decay Among School Children”. Doctus Journal of Dentistry 1.2 (2026): 07-20.
Copyright and Licence
© 2026 Sen B. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.