Dental caries and periodontal diseases among urban rural and tribal school children.

During 1990-1991 in Wardha district India dental workers conducted an oral health examination of 778 children attending two urban four rural and two tribal primary schools to determine oral health status and the association between oral health and sex location of school brushing behavior and nutritional status. 59.2% of boys and 62% of girls cleaned their teeth once a day with Manjan a locally available red and black granular powder. 5.7% of boys and 13.6% of girls brushed their teeth with tooth paste. 3.1% of all children only used their finger and plain water. 21.1% used ash and coal which may damage gums and teeth enamel. 16.5% of all children had dental caries. About 40% of children who used tobacco powder and a small twig to clean their teeth had dental caries compared to 15-18% for those who used coal ash Manjan and tooth paste (p < 0.005). 13% had deposits of calcium phosphate and carbonate with organic matter on their teeth (i.e. calculus). 24.5% had stains on their teeth. The DM index (total number of decayed and missing teeth in each group divided by the total number of children in that group) at 12 years was 0.52 for boys and 0.8 for girls. The overall prevalence of periodontal diseases (abscess/bleeding and calculus) stood at 17.8%. Periodontal diseases tended to be limited to children using ash coal and Manjan. Rural children were more likely than urban and tribal children to suffer from periodontal diseases (22.6% vs. 10.5% and 15% respectively; p < 0.05). Dental caries were more prevalent among urban children than rural and tribal children (22.8% vs. 15.5% and 15% respectively). Stains were more common among tribal children than urban and rural children (30% vs. 18.7% and 22.4% respectively). Overall the oral health status of tribal children was better than that of urban children. No association between dental caries and nutritional status existed. In conclusion school oral health education should address dental caries periodontal diseases and the materials that harm teeth.