[Dental caries among 5-7 years old children in a Russian subarctic region].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to assess the prevalence and experience of dental caries among preschool children in a Russian Subarctic region. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed a complex dental examination in 1232 randomly selected children aged 5-7 years using the World Health Organization (WHO) methodology (5th Edition) and standard dental forms. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of caries in primary dentition was 90.8%. Boys were more likely to have caries than girls (93.0% vs. 88.5%, p=0.007). Caries experience in deciduous teeth in the full sample was 6.43 with the average number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth being 4.67, 0.64 and 1.13, respectively. The prevalence of caries in permanent teeth was 5.2% with caries experience of 0.08. Decayed, missing, and filled teeth components were 0.06, 0 and 0.03, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We observed high prevalence and experience of caries among 5-7 years old children in Arkhangelsk region. These findings exceed the national average and do not reach the WHO-2020 goals warranting urgent implementation of prevention strategies to improve dental health in this age group in Arctic and Subarctic Russia.