[A study of dental caries and risk factors in children of Guangxi area].

PURPOSE: To observe the trends of dental caries and identify risk factors which may be associated with caries among children in Guangxi province between 2011 and 2013. METHODS: Three age groups of children (3-year-old, 6-year-old, 12-year-old) were selected from 3 urban and rural areas in Guilin, Baise and Beihai of Guangxi province and examined annually from 2011 to 2013.The caries prevalence, mean DMFT/dmft, caries incidence rate and filling rate were recorded. The data was analyzed with SPSS19.0 software package. RESULTS: The caries prevalence, mean DMFT/dmft and caries incidence rate in the 3 groups were increased year by year. The caries prevalence of deciduous teeth in 3-year-old group was 53.2%, 68.7% and 79.1% respectively, and the growth rate was 48.6%; The mean dmft was 2.34, 4.06 and 5.68, and the caries incidence rate increased from 55.9% to 61.2%. In the 6-year-old group, the caries prevalence of permanent teeth was 8.6%, 21.6% and 48.0% respectively, and the growth rate was 458.1%; The mean DMFT was 0.13, 0.34 and 0.99, and the caries incidence rate increased from 15.6% to 36.6%. The caries prevalence of permanent teeth in 12-year-old group was 52.8%, 60.2% and 71.3%, and the growth rate was 35.0%; The mean DMFT was 1.49, 1.92 and 2.96, and the caries incidence rate increased from 26.1% to 46.9%. The frequency of drinking soft drink or sweet, taking sweets at bedtime or after brushing teeth, brushing teeth with help, frequency of brushing, fluoride toothpaste may be the risk factors related to dental caries among children in this study. CONCLUSIONS: Dental caries increase fast among children in Guangxi area. It is necessary to take appropriate measures to improve children's oral health.