Oral health status of 1500 university students in Toulouse France.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health status among a population of students enrolled in the first year at the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse (France), and to compare the results with those of similar investigations. METHODS: An epidemiologic survey of 1,500 students at the Centre for Preventive Medicine at Paul Sabatier University (UPS) will enable us to obtain the prevalence of certain variables such as DMFT, sugar consumption, tooth-brushing frequency, and mouthwash use, through a structured questionnaire and a standardised oral health examination. RESULTS: The Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index of these students was 4.4 (Standard Deviation = 3.72) (D = 1, M = 0.042 F = 3,454). Of the 1500 subjects, 27.6% smoke, while 43% eat sweets on a regular basis. The female students are more careful with their dental health (tooth-brushing frequency and mouthwash use are statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Although the result of the DMFT index is lower in comparison to similar previous studies, a decrease in dental caries seems certain. The multifactorial knowledge of the caries aetiology motivates us to search for new, more sensitive indexes.