Abstract

MOMBIEDRO SANDOVAL, R.  and  LLENA PUY, C.. Dental caries in a Spanish military population. Sanid. Mil. [online]. 2011, vol.67, n.1, pp.36-42. ISSN 1887-8571.

Object: The target of this study was to assess the prevalence of caries in a population of Spanish military personnel at the "General Almirante " base at Marines (Valencia). Material and Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was made of a sample of 387 military personnel, (95% CI). The oral examinations were conducted at the dental clinic at the base, in accordance with the WHO (1997, 4^th ed.) criteria, by a single dentist calibrated against an experienced examiner. The survey was conducted between December 2003 and July 2004. Results: The decayed, missed and filled teeth (DMF-T) were 4.05. The 23% of the sample was free of caries. The 40% of those examined presented untreated caries, the percentage of untreated caries was significantly higher among the privates and among those who did not report regular tooth brushing. The care index (% F/DMF-T) was 60%. The privates presented more decay and less treated caries (M,F) than the officers and non-commissioned officers, these differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: Nearly half of those polled need caries treatment. Strategies based on preventive policy of early diagnosis and Caries management by risk assessment adapted to military life, may be the key to achieving emergency-free troop deployment during future operations.

Keywords : Dental caries; Epidemiology; DMFT index; Military Personnel.

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