Decayed, missing, and filled teeth among Jewish and Arab schoolchildren in Israel

Abstract

Caries prevalence in schoolchildren of Arab and Jewish populations was compared according to sex, age and population examined. Altogether, 3672 children were included in the survey(1975 Jews, 1001 of whom were females, and 1697 Arabs, 840 of whom were females). During the examination only dental caries were checked. Caries were marked according to the DMF [decayed, missing and filled] index. Compared to former years there was an increase in the prevalence of caries throughout the population. A slightly lower caries prevalence was found among Jewish children than among Arab children of the same age. When DMF is broken down into its component parts, Arab children had a greater number of teeth affected by caries and in need of treatment (D). Treatment need was met to a much greater degree among Jewish children than among Arab children. Arab children received almost no dental care.