Pattern and surface prevalence of dental caries on posterior teeth of children in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Objective: Knowledge of the pattern of dental caries in children is important in the designing of preventive clinical procedures, community-based programmes and formulation of appropriate treatment strategies for these children. This study therefore described the pattern and surface prevalence of dental caries on the posterior teeth of children attending Paedodontic clinic of University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. Method: All children aged 5 – 12 years attending the clinic for the first time within a period of 24 months (2005 – 2007) were examined clinically and radiographically (using bitewing radiographs) for dental caries. Tooth types and tooth surfaces affected were recorded and data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11. Result: The results showed that the most frequently affected tooth surface in primary teeth was approximal surface (58.6%) followed by occlusal surface (39.9%) while in permanent teeth, the reverse was the case (occlusal = 77.0%, approximal = 15.0%). The second primary molars were found to be more affected than first molars in primary dentition while first permanent molars were the most affected in permanent teeth. The distribution of dental caries was higher in the lower jaw than the upper jaw. There was a slight difference in sex predilection with females having higher mean dmft/DMFT than males, though this was not statistically significant. The aged group mostly affected was 5 – 8 years with mean dmft and DMFT of 2.68±1.84 and 0.21±0.54 respectively. Conclusion: The high occurrence of approximal caries in primary teeth observed revealed the need for the use of bitewing radiographs for early detection of such lesions while the high occurrence of occlusal caries in permanent dentition showed the need to design preventive clinical procedures such as the placement of fissure sealants on first molars so as to prevent occurrence of occlusal caries in high risk children. Key words: Dental caries, surface prevalence, posterior teeth, children