Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology · 1988 · 41 citations · 12 references
DentistryOral BiologyOral Health SciencesChild Oral HealthOral MicrobiologyPediatric Dental CariesCaries EpidemiologyCaries Risk AssessmentEarly Childhood CariesMicrobiology Of Dental CariesSalivary FactorsSalivary Factors In CariesConcentrationDmft Index
The caries prevalence (dmft) and severity (css) in 3-, 4-, and 5-yr-old children in South Africa were examined. Four levels of S. mutans in the saliva of 228 of these children was estimated by the spatula method. In all three age groups a statistically higher dmft and css was found with a S. mutans level of greater than 10(6) CFU/ml in saliva than at lower concentrations. At age 5 ANOVA showed significant differences between dmft and css at all S. mutans levels. A high concentration of S. mutans in the saliva may be an indicator of the high risk child at an early age.
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