Prevalence of dental caries among 3 to 11 years old children in Lahore

Aim: To determine frequency of dental caries in mal-occluded teeth among children 3-11 years of age and compare dental caries in children with mal-occluded teeth Methodology: This cross sectional analytical study using purposive sampling technique was carried out at Dental hospital of Institute of dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College, Lahore for 09 months After permission from institute of dentistry, CMH Lahore medical college and informed consent form participants or their parents/ guardian, they were included as male and female children aged 3-11 years that attended dental hospital of Institute of dentistry, CMH Lahore Medical College for dental treatment and had mal-occluded teeth. Children with mental, physical disabilities and whose parents/ guardian refused to take part were excluded. Dental caries in mal-occluded teeth of children was examined to report the frequency of dental caries. SPSS version 23 was used for analysis data. Results: Among the total of 330 patients included in the study, dental caries was observed in 260 (78.8%) of patients. Conclusion(s): Significant associations of dental caries were observed in terms of gender and age, monthly income, interventional urgency, and occupation and education status. Higher frequency of dental caries was observed in the upper middle and lower middle class groups. Keywords: Dental caries, Mal-occlusion, Pre-school children, Dental treatment