Dental caries and oral hygiene status of school children in Davangere related to their socio-economic levels: an epidemiological study

Dental caries and periodontal disease, the most commonly seen disease show striking geographic variation, socio-economic patterns and severity of distribution all over the world. Hence, an attempt has been made to determine the relationship of oral health status with socio-economic status in Davangere town. A total of 2007 children of 13 to 14 years age belonging to both sexes were examined. Type III examination was carried out during the survey. DMFcaries Index and Oral Hygiene Index was used to assess caries experience and oral hygiene status. Prasad's classification was used to know the social classification of the children. It was concluded that dental caries experience and oral hygiene status of children are strongly correlated to socio-economic status.