Jimenez-Gayosso Sandra I, Robles-Bermeo Norma L, Scougall-Vilchis Rogelio J, Mora-Acosta Mariana, Casanova-Sarmiento Juan A, Islas-Granillo Horacio, Guadarrama-Reyes Saraí C, Argüello-Sánchez Raúl, Medina-Solís Carlo E, Sosa-Velasco Taurino Amílcar
Dentistry, Academic Area of Dentistry of Health Sciences Institute, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State, Pachuca, MEX.
Dentistry, Advanced Studies and Research Center in Dentistry "Dr. Keisaburo Miyata" School of Dentistry, Autonomous University of State of Mexico, Toluca, MEX.
Cureus. 2024 Nov 22;16(11):e74196. doi: 10.7759/cureus.74196. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Background Dental caries is identified as one of the most prevalent chronic pathologies among the pediatric population on a global scale, constituting a public health problem. Within the permanent dentition, the first molars play a fundamental and critical role both in masticatory functionality and in the development of occlusion and the overall oral health of the patient. Previous research has shown that permanent molars tend to show significantly high levels of caries incidence, and a correlation has been detected between the status of the first permanent molars and the overall caries rate. Objective To investigate the correlation between the overall DMFT index (Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth Index in the permanent dentition) and the DMFT calculated from the status of the first permanent molars (FPMs) in a sample of Mexican school-aged children, and to discuss the implications for oral epidemiology. Material and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on 107 children aged 5 to 12 years at a pediatric dentistry clinic of a public university in Mexico. All data were obtained from medical records. The DMFT index was calculated for the entire dentition, and a separate DMFT index was determined for the first permanent molars. Nonparametric tests were used in the analyses. Analyses were performed in Stata 14 (StataCorp, College Station, USA). Results The mean age was 8.52±1.36 years, and 50.5% were boys. The mean overall DMFT index was 1.90±2.01 and the DMFT-FPM index was 1.71±1.74, a difference of 0.19 (10%) (Wilcoxon: DMFT vs DMFT-FPM, p=0.0009). The correlation between caries indices was very strong (Spearman r=0.9803; p<0.0001). The overall caries prevalence was 58.9% for DMFT>0 and for the DMFT-FPM>0, 57.0%, a difference of 1.9 percentage points (3.2%). The results show an association of experience and caries prevalence by age (p<0.05), but not by sex (p>0.05). Conclusions There is a very strong correlation between the overall DMFT index and the DMFT calculated exclusively for the first permanent molars in this sample of Mexican schoolchildren. This suggests that the FPMs contribute significantly to the overall caries experience and could be a key indicator in the diagnosis and monitoring of oral health, taking into account the percentage of underestimation.
龋齿被认为是全球儿童中最普遍的慢性疾病之一，构成了一个公共卫生问题。在恒牙列中，第一恒磨牙在咀嚼功能、咬合发育以及患者整体口腔健康方面都起着至关重要的作用。先前的研究表明，恒磨牙往往呈现出显著较高的龋齿发病率，并且已检测到第一恒磨牙的状况与总体龋齿率之间存在相关性。
调查墨西哥学龄儿童样本中恒牙列的总体DMFT指数（恒牙列龋失补牙指数）与根据第一恒磨牙（FPMs）状况计算得出的DMFT之间的相关性，并讨论其对口腔流行病学的意义。
在墨西哥一所公立大学的儿童牙科诊所对107名5至12岁的儿童进行了横断面研究。所有数据均从病历中获取。计算整个牙列的DMFT指数，并为第一恒磨牙确定单独的DMFT指数。分析中使用非参数检验。分析在Stata 14（美国德克萨斯州大学站的StataCorp公司）中进行。
平均年龄为8.52±1.36岁，50.5%为男孩。总体DMFT指数的平均值为1.90±2.01，DMFT-FPM指数为1.71±1.74，差值为0.19（10%）（Wilcoxon检验：DMFT与DMFT-FPM对比，p = 0.0009）。龋齿指数之间的相关性非常强（Spearman相关系数r = 0.9803；p < 0.0001）。DMFT>0时总体龋齿患病率为58.9%，DMFT-FPM>0时为57.0%，差值为1.9个百分点（3.2%）。结果显示按年龄（p < 0.05）而非性别（p > 0.05），有龋齿经历与龋齿患病率之间存在关联。
在这个墨西哥学龄儿童样本中，总体DMFT指数与仅针对第一恒磨牙计算得出的DMFT之间存在非常强的相关性。这表明第一恒磨牙对总体龋齿经历有显著贡献，并且考虑到低估百分比，它可能是口腔健康诊断和监测中的一个关键指标。
