In recent years, there has been noted a tendency to deterioration of dental health in children and teenagers. Therefore, it is important to study the dental status of children who attend different educational establishments to identify risk factors for dental diseases and develop means of their elimination.
The survey of adolescents studying in various educational institutions (school, college, university) in Chernivtsi was conducted according to the generally accepted method. The study of the prevalence (%) and intensity of caries (CPV of teeth) was taking into account the degree of caries activity in each age period: compensated (1st), subcompensated (2nd), decompensated (3rd). A total of 107 schoolchildren, 317 college students, and 116 university students were surveyed. Adolescents are 15 to 18 years old. To conduct the study, the average rates of caries in each age group were calculated to determine the degree of caries activity in each age period, taking into account the area where adolescents live. The following indicators were obtained for the Chernivtsi region:
– 15 years: compensated form – up to 4 caries-affected teeth, subcompensated – 5-7, decompensated – 8 or over;
– 16 years: compensated – up to 5, subcompensated – 6-8, decompensated – 9 or over;
– 17 years: compensated – up to 7, subcompensated – 8-10, decompensated – 11 or over;
– 18 years: compensated – up to 8, subcompensated – 9-11, decompensated 12, or over.
Our research showed that college students in all studied age periods (15, 16, 17, and 18 years) had worse results than teenagers in the comparison groups (schoolchildren of 15-16 years, university students of 17-18 years). About 62% of all examined teenagers had the first degree of caries activity, 19.5% had the 2nd, and 18.5% had the 3rd degree of caries. Teenagers enrolled in college were divided according to the degree of caries activity: in the 1st degree – 36.3%, 2nd – 32.2%, 3rd – 31.5%, at school: 1st degree – 100%, at university: 1st degree – 97.4%, 2nd – 2.6%. At the age of 18, the number of college students who have a decompensated degree of caries activity increases to 36.6% due to a decrease in the number in the group with a subcompensated degree. University students in 100% of cases had a compensated degree of caries activity.
Caries intensity rates in each age group are lower in schoolchildren than in college students and are the lowest in university students. In teenagers with the first degree of caries activity, the highest rate of caries intensity was observed in college (15-18 year adolescents), and the lowest – at school (15-16 years). University students, despite being 17-18 years old, had lower rates than college teens. All students had the first degree of caries activity. When comparing the rate of caries intensity in the studied 15 year-olds with the compensated degree of caries activity, it was found that in schoolchildren it is 1.7 times lower than in college students, in 16 year-olds – 1.5 times. At the age of 17 and 18 – 1.7 times, compared to university students.
Thus, our research showed that college students of all studied age groups had worse indices than teenagers in the comparison groups. They have a more severe course of caries. The results suggest that further studies into the causes of caries in college students need to be conducted.
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