Dental Caries Assessment of Mississippi Head Start Children

Abstract

This study assessed the dental caries status and treatment needs of Mississippi Head Start children during the 1987-88 school year. The 2,393 children examined, representing a 10 percent random sample of all Mississippi Head Start children, were three to six years old with a majority being four to five years old. The mean deft ranged from 1.34 for three-year-olds to 4.32 for six-year-olds; the mean defs ranged from 2.33 to 9.99. More than 50 percent of primary teeth of three-year-olds with dental caries experience required treatment, whereas less than one-quarter of similarly affected teeth of six-year-olds were in need of treatment.