Objective: To determine the prevalence of dental carries among the school going children in the central part of Uttar Pradesh, India.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the urban school going children in Lucknow district. Four primary
schools were selected and 110 children of age 6 to 12 years from each school were examined, thus a total of 440 children were
examined for dental carries. The children were examined by a single trained examiner in their respective schools seated on an
ordinary chair in broad day light facing away from direct sunlight using WHO (1997) criteria.
Results: There were 71.4% males and 28.6% females. Overall, 43.9% of the children examined had dental carries. The prevalence
dental carried was lower among male children (43.3%) than females (45.2%). The children of age 6 years (63.2) had higher
percentage of dental carried followed by 7 years (56.3%), 8 years (51.1%), 9 years (47.8%), 10 years (40.5%), 11 years (39.4%) and
12 years (37.5%). Not much difference in the prevalence of dental carries was found between male and female in all the ages. The
average decayed teeth was 1.024±0.004, missing was 0.016±0.001 and filled was 0.002±0.000. The average DMFT was found to be
Conclusion: The prevalence of dental carries was low in this population from earlier studies being higher among females than males.
However, an attention is required in both the sexes about their oral practices.