Occurrence of dental caries in primary and permanent dentition, oral health status and treatment needs among 12-15 year old school children of Jorpati VDC, Kathmandu.

Dental caries occurrence, distribution, oral health status and corresponding treatment needs in 12 - 15 year old children are useful tools for evaluation of oral health. Dental caries status along with its treatment needs was recorded according to World Health Organization (WHO) index (1997) in 366 children from five schools within Jorpati Village Development Committee (VDC), Kathmandu. Dental caries was diagnosed in 156 (42.6%) children, out of which 122 (78.21%) had caries in permanent teeth, 26 (16.67%) had caries in primary teeth, and 8 (5.13%) had caries in both dentition. The age wise distribution of dental caries showed the highest prevalence among 12 year old students (23.8%) and the lowest among 15 year olds (3.8%). Among the female students (177), 43.5% showed presence of dental caries, while the prevalence among male students (179) was 41.8%.Out of the total number of teeth affected by dental caries (336), 273 (81.25%) were permanent teeth and 63 (18.75%) were primary teeth. The intra arch distribution of dental caries in permanent as well as primary dentition was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Restorative treatment (89.38%) was the main need in permanent dentition, and endodontic treatment (60.32%) in primary dentition. Chronologic enamel hypoplasia was found in 14 (3.83%) of the total population, and 62 (16.94%) required oral prophylaxis. These findings are significant as they can initiate further research in this area, which may help establish reliable baseline data for implementation of preventive oral health programs.