Evaluation of Oral Health Status in Rural Area

An oral health survey was undertaken to investigate the oral health status of 5-year-old children attending government schools in Meerut City, State-Uttar Pradesh, India. WHO 1997 criteria were used in order to obtain baseline data for oral health status. Fifteen hundred children were examined, 60.2% males and 39.8% females. The prevalence of dental caries in males was 89.7%, with mean dmft of 2.63 and in females 86.8%, with a mean dmft of 2.21. A diet diary was used to ascertain the amount of sugar consumed per day. The results indicated a high level of sugar exposures in the study population. Diet counselling should be undertaken so that appropriate oral health promotion programmes could create an environment to achieve a healthy lifestyle and behaviours.