Childhood dental caries experience in northern Spain: a cross-sectional study

Purpose This study aimed to describe the caries experience in primary and permanent dentition of schoolchildren from a sample taken in public schools in Bilbao, to identify the most vulnerable child population, and compare them with the findings obtained by the Children’s Dental Care Programme in the region of the Basque Country (Spain). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a representative sample ( n = 1682) of children from 5-year-old early childhood education classes and the first- and second-year elementary classes in public schools in Bilbao. The dependent variable was the caries experience determined through oral examinations carried out by a single dentist. On the other hand, independent variables were measured through questionnaires completed by families, with help from teachers as appropriate. In the statistical analysis, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric tests, as well as two logistic regressions, were performed, and the significance level was set at α = 0.05 for decision making. Results The mean (SD) values of dft, DMFT, DMFS and DMFT of first permanent molars scores were 1.25 ± 2.20, 0.16 ± 0.61, 0.20 ± 0.90 and 0.15 ± 0.57, respectively. Compared to the findings in the most recent PADI report, the schoolchildren in our sample had slightly greater experience of dental caries in primary dentition and much greater experience in permanent dentition. Conclusion The dft index of the primary dentition for the current sample is 1.25, while the DMFT index for the permanent dentition is 0.16. Among pupils in early childhood and elementary education in public schools in Bilbao, children from families with low socioeconomic status and educational attainment are most vulnerable to developing caries.