Caries, periodontal diseases and oral hygiene among six- to twelve-year-old children in the Druze village of Yarka.

The purpose of the present study was to assemble data on the prevalence of caries and periodontal diseases and on the state of oral hygiene in members of the Druze community in Israel aged six to twelve years, and to compare the findings for the different age sub-groups and for males and females within each age sub-group. The population investigated was a sample of 396 children aged six to twelve, 182 males and 213 females, in the village of Yarka in the Western Galilee. The indices used for the purpose of evaluation were: DMF for caries, PI for periodontal diseases, and OHI-S for oral hygiene. No significant differences were found in the incidence of gingivitis as between the various age sub-groups. Oral hygiene was found to deteriorate as age increased. Oral hygiene in ages 9 to 12 was found to be of a lower level in the males than in the females, while in ages 6 to 9 no significant variation was recorded between the sexes. A comparison of the prevalence of caries as established in this study with the figures recorded in earlier years shows an increase. Dental treatment supplied to the children studied had been zero. Comparison of this fact with earlier studies revealed that with regard to treatment no improvement had taken place in the Druze population in recent years.