Kong and factors which affect their caries status. Design. 658 preschool children aged 4 to 6 years from six randomly selected kindergartens in Hong Kong were ...
SUMMARIES
dental public health
A survey of dental caries in Hong Kong preschool children Dental caries status of preschool children in Hong Kong C. H. Chu, D. S. H. Fung, and E. C. M. Lo 187: 616-620
Objective
To describe the dental caries status of preschool children in Hong Kong and factors which affect their caries status. Design
658 preschool children aged 4 to 6 years from six randomly selected kindergartens in Hong Kong were surveyed in December 1997. A questionnaire to investigate possible explanatory variables for caries status was completed by their parents. Dental caries was diagnosed according to the criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (1997).
and was better than that of children in the nearby areas. However, special dental programmes should be made available to children from lower socio-economic classes and new immigrants from Mainland China because they are the high risk groups for caries in Hong Kong.
In brief
Result
Caries experience as measured by the mean number of decayed, missing and filled primary teeth (dmft) of the 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children were found to be 0.9, 1.8, and 3.3 respectively. Overall, 61% of the children had a zero dmft score. Children born in Mainland China had a higher mean dmft score (4.6) than those born in Hong Kong (1.4). Statistically significant correlations were found between the children’s dental caries status and their oral health practices as well as their socio-economic background. Parents’ education level, dental knowledge and attitudes were also associated with the children’s dental caries experience. Conclusion
Br Dent J 1999;
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Caries experience of immigrant children differed significantly from that of children in Hong Kong.
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Caries status of Hong Kong Chinese preschool children was similar to that of UK children
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Children from lower socio-economic classes and whose parents had poorer dental health knowledge and attitude had more caries.
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It is important to involve parents in dental health promotion programmes for preschool children.
In general, the caries status of Hong Kong Chinese preschool children was similar to that of children in industrialised countries Comment
The past decade has seen turbulent changes for Hong Kong. The future of its social and democratic process has dominated the news headlines ever since the Thatcher government first raised the issue of its sovereignty post-1997. In 1997 the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to China. One result of this change has been the movement of a number of mainland Chinese residents to Hong Kong. The opportunity to monitor the impact on oral health of migration has been created by the estimated 55,000 people per year settling in Hong Kong. Therefore the present study is welcome as it provide valuable baseline data, for young children who invariably have come from a lower socioecocomic background in China to an industrialised society with a well developed healthcare system in Hong Kong. This paper presents information about
the levels of dental caries seen in a sample of 4- to 9-year-old children in Hong Kong. Of the children, 39% had some caries’ experience, an estimate lower than is seen here in the UK for children of equivalent age and considerably lower than has been reported by the same team for children in adjacent parts of mainland China. As in children in a large number of countries, caries was greatest in those from lower social classes and among those who were from children born in mainland China. Children who brushed their teeth more often also had less decay. It was depressingly familiar to see that a high proportion of caries (more than 90%) was untreated in the group of young children. Fluoridation is thought to have both topical and systemic effects but in this study, among children born in mainland China, there appeared to have been no relationship between length of residence in Hong Kong (and exposure to fluoridated water and to
BRITISH DENTAL JOURNAL, VOLUME 187, NO. 11, DECEMBER 11 1999
fluoride containing toothpastes) and caries. However, numbers were small, only 39 of the children had been born in mainland China, all were young and ages varied over a 2-year group, making it difficult to draw clear conclusions about the effects of fluoride. The need for dental care for disadvantaged children in the UK has been highlighted in the past.1 This study shows that the need for action is an international one. Hong Kong already enjoys the advantages of water fluoridation but the study also shows that there remain some children for whom this measure alone is insufficient to ensure optimal oral health. 1
M N Naylor, G B Winter The dental care of the disadvantaged child. Br Dent J 1998; 186: 102.
R Bedi,* R D Holt,† *Head of Department, †Senior Lecturer, Transcultural Oral Health Eastman Dental Institute
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