Abstract:
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Muhimbili University of Health & Allied
Sciences, P.O. Box 65451, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The prevalence of dental caries and supragingival plaque and calculus in 785
secondary schools students was assessed. More than half (53.6%) of the students
were caries-free, and the majority of those with dental caries experience were
aged 14-17 (68.1%) and females (53%). Mean DMFT was 1.26, with mean D-component
of 1.05, and molars were most affected. Most students had supragingival plaque
(74%) and calculus (56.9%) and more so in males than females (P > 0.05). Less
than half of the students had experience of dental caries and those with caries
were mostly females and of the younger age group. The low DMFT was contributed to
the D-component, and molars were the tooth type most affected.The majority of
students had supra-gingival plaque and calculus and more so in males than
females.
