Prevalance of first permanent molar caries among 7-10 years old school going boys in Abha City, Saudi Arabia

Objective: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases affecting children. In particular first permanent molar is more vulnerable to caries because of its morphological and functional characteristics. The purpose of the present study was to determine prevalence of first permanent molar in 7-10 years old school going boys in Abha City, Saudi Arabia.Materials and Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 836 school children selected randomly from private and public schools of Abha city, Saudi Arabia. All students were examined for Dental caries using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria by trained examiners. Data was analyzed using Chi-square and Fischer s exact t test.Results: The point prevalence of dental caries in first permanent molar was recorded to be 66.4% with an average DMFT of 2.74±1.18. Prevalence increased consistently with age. Mandibular first permanent molar exhibited higher caries prevalence than its Maxillary counterpart. Public schools exhibited higher caries prevalence than private school students.Conclusion: Caries prevalence among 7-10 years old students in Abha city, Saudi Arabia is higher than the global standards of WHO and Federation Dentaire International (FDI) for 2010. Hence adequate preventive measures are essential to be implanted at the earliest to bring down the current caries prevailing rate