Dental health of 6-year-old children in Alpes Maritimes, France

AIM: To describe the dental health status of 6-year-old children using the ICDAS-II advanced method and to evaluate the association between the known caries risk factors with the cavitated caries lesion (WHO basic method) or with both non-cavitated and cavitated caries lesion caries (ICDAS II). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was used to evaluate oral health and dietary habits of children. A clinical examination and a Cario analysis test (Pierre Fabre Oral care) were performed. STATISTICS: Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association between caries and daily tooth-brushing, dietary habits, visible plaque and salivary factors. RESULTS: There were 341 children (52% female and 6.25±0.46 years of age) in this study. Using the ICDAS-II advanced method, 39% of the children were caries-free. This proportion was larger (67.2%) using the WHO method. In multivariate models, visible dental plaque and Streptococcus mutans count were associated with caries experience registered as ICDAS-II codes 1–6 or codes 3–6. The absence of daily tooth-brushing with fluoridated toothpaste was associated only with caries experience ICDAS-II codes 3–6. CONCLUSION: The use of WHO or ICDAS-II method changed the proportion of caries-free children but not the clinical caries risk factors associated with caries experience