Abstract

RAMIREZ-PUERTA, Blanca Susana; GONZALEZ-PATINO, Elizabeth  and  MORALES-FLOREZ, Jessica Lorena. Dental caries experience in population aged, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65-year-olds, Medellin (Colombia), 2011. CES odontol. [online]. 2013, vol.26, n.2, pp.36-48. ISSN 0120-971X.

Introduction and objective: The establishment of baseline oral health indicators is the starting point in order to plan interventions in the population, and is a Government directive. The aim of this study was to identify indicators of dental caries experience and number of teeth present in the 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65-year-old population who attended Primary Data Generation Clinics in Medellín between 2010 and 2011. Materials and methods: 2460 records from a database established and standardized by Antioquia Health and Social Protection Service and the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection were analyzed. Prevalence and dental caries experience, number of teeth present, and DMFT and modified DMFT indexes were calculated. Results: 95.9% had experience of cavitational caries, and prevalence was 72.1%. The DMFT index average was 11.0±7.2 which increased with age, with an average of 5.3±3.8 among 25-year-olds and 19.0±7.4 among 65-year-olds. Modified DMFT index was 11.2±7.2. The percentage of the population that had complete dentition was 65.3% and the average number of teeth present was 24.1±5.7. Conclusions: The high prevalence of caries, and the high values of tooth loss indexes and caries experience, which increase with age, reflects the need to define policies and oral health programs targeted at the adult population of the city of Medellin.

Keywords : Dental caries; Tooth loss; Oral health; Epidemiology.

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