Prevention campaign: "A Smile School": prevalence of dental caries in the pediatric population of central Rome

Aim: Tooth decay is a disease closely related to eating habits and lifestyles, easily correctable in the child and adolescent population. Indeed, it is remarkably widespread among the Italian population. Hence the need for a monitoring to define the trend of the disease and to provide educational programs that promote good eating habits and oral hygiene. Method: In this view The U.O.C. of Pediatric Dentistry, Policlinico Umberto I in Rome (Dir. Prof. Antonella Polimeni) sponsored by the second municipality of Rome, have promoted, for the current school year, dental examinations to pupils in nursery classes, primary and secondary, between the ages of 3 and 13 years old, carried out at school, trained by dentists, with the use of sterile disposable material (dental probe and mirror) and clinical detection folders that include: questionnaire addressed to parents about hygiene and eating habits of their children and personal data; a detection folder for caries and periodontal disease with plaque index for home oral hygiene assessment. Parents were issued a letter of accompany with the medical observations. For each child was asked consent to the visit and processing of data. Result: The examined sample of 372 children, 202 males and 170 females. Of these, 74.19% did not carry out any kind of additional fluoride further home care by toothbrushing. By clinical observation on sample, 40.05% had absence of plaque, plaque detectable to the probe in 27.69%, the 18.1% seen with the naked eye plaque and 10.48% abundant accumulations of plaque. Bleeding on probing was present only in 9.41%. The DMF is 0.7 and def 0.6. Compared with the data relating to the parents education, 69.62 of mothers graduated and 62.91 of the fathers, the remainder is split between middle and high schools, no one do not appear any kind of education. Conclusion: Sample thus far examined has a satisfactory level of oral health with a DMF of 0.7 and a def of 0.6 or less than 1. However, the WHO goals for 2020, we recall, promote between 5 and 6 years old subjects free from tooth decay, so prevention and oral health promotion campaigns in these age groups are necessary to achieve that goal not yet reached.