An update on the relative vulnerability of the first and second permanent molars to caries in urban Nigerians

Aims and Objectives: Caries is a dynamic disease from an interaction between environmental, behavioral, and genetic elements. We aimed to determine if the changing dietary patterns of urban Nigerians have any effect on the relative susceptibility of the first and second permanent molars to caries. Materials and Methods: The case files of 7977 patients, who attended the Restorative Clinic at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Dental Centre, from 2012 to 2015, were reviewed for the occurrence of caries. Differences in the levels of occurrence of caries between the first and second permanent molars, with regard to age, gender, and the mandible and maxilla, were established by means of chi-square test, and the level of significance was determined at P ≤ 0.05. Results: The second permanent molars were more susceptible to caries at 4013 (58.8%) compared to first permanent molars at 3448 (46.2%). A higher proportion of second permanent molars were decayed or filled (3146, 42.2%) compared to that of the first molar (2348, 31.5%) (P< 0.001). However, a greater number of first molars (1100, 14.7%) were extracted due to caries compared to second molars (887, 11.6%). Males had more carious lesions (4422, 59.3%) compared to females (3039, 40.7%) (P > 0.05). The number of carious first and second molars was higher in the lower jaw (4498, 60.3%) compared to the upper jaw (2963, 39.7%) and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The second permanent molars were more vulnerable to caries indicating apparent changing dietary patterns of urban Nigerians. Further prospective studies, covering a wider age range, should be carried out to validate or refute the claim of this study.