The oral health and treatment needs of schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago: findings of a national survey.

Objective. To describe the oral health and treatment need of schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago. Design and method. Cross-sectional survey using stratified cluster sampling. Participants were children in primary (aged 6–8 years) and secondary school (aged 12 and 15 years). Main outcome measures were DMFT/dmft, treatment need, and fluorosis. Results. Examinations were completed on 1064 children. The dmft of the 6–8-year-olds was 2·54 (95% CI = 2·32, 2·76). For 12-year-olds, the DMFT was 0·61 (95% CI = 0·51, 0·71), whereas for 15-year-olds, the DMFT was 1·06 (95% CI = 0·87, 1·25). Most of the caries experience in 6–8-year-olds was from decayed teeth. Sixty-seven per cent of the sample (95% CI = 64%, 69%) had some type of treatment need. Most frequently occurring need was for fillings at 42% (95% CI = 40%, 44%) with 28% (95% CI = 26%, 31%) of the total sample needing two or more surface fillings, followed by fissure sealants at 33% (95% CI = 30%, 36%) and caries-arresting care at 12% (95% CI = 10%, 14%). Extraction of one or more teeth was needed in 13% (95% CI = 11%, 15%) of children. Rates of fluorosis were negligible. Conclusion. The caries experience of 12- and 15-year-old children were low but was high for schoolchildren aged 6–8 years, in terms of prevalence and severity. Effective oral health promotion strategies need to be implemented to improve the oral health of primary schoolchildren in Trinidad and Tobago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]