Prevalence and Severity of Dental Caries in Foster-Care Children and Adolescents

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries among institutionalized children and adolescents in San José, Costa Rica. This cross-sectional descriptive study included 201 children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 17 years. Participants were selected by following pre-established criteria from 33 shelters located in the province of San José, Costa Rica. The International Caries Detection Assessment System (ICDAS) method was used for caries assessment. ANOVA and Student's T-test were used for statistical analysis. Caries prevalence was estimated at 96.35% among participants in the study. No significant difference was found for sex (p=0.653) or age group (p=0.349). Regarding caries severity, it was found that early enamel lesions were the most frequent pathology, representing 79.2% of decayed surfaces. This study found that different risk factors (social, psychological, economic, and personal) may be related to the high prevalence of dental caries in foster-care children and adolescents. Special strategies may need to be developed to prevent and treat dental caries in this vulnerable population.