Oral Health and Dental Management

Abstract

Study of the risk factors for the development of dental caries and creation of a system for assessment the risk of caries in children in Bulgaria

M. Rashkova, M. Peneva, L. Doychinova

In the last 15 years, the assessment of the risk of caries is a basic element of the prevention, control and treatment of caries. The contemporary approch in the study of caries stresses the importance of management of the condition, of preventive nonaggressive treatment, of the ?manipulation? of the biological and chemical oral environment. It is the aim of the present study to determine the relative weight of the most important factors for assessment of the risk of caries in children and to work out adequate instruments for the risk prediction of caries, appliable to the children in Bulgaria. High risk factors for the development of caries are the oral hygiene, carbohydtate nutrition, the viscosity of the saliva, the buffer capacity, the ?? of the saliva, the incidence of caries in parents, the social status. Moderate risk factors are the insufficient fluoride prophylaxis and some parameters of the salivary current, such as the buffer capacity and the viscosity of the saliva. When the intake of carbohydrates is high, the way of intake of carbohydrates and the frequency of meals makes no substantial difference. On the basis of the results obtained the most important risk factors were selected and then supplemented by factors used in different systems of assessment, as presented by the relevant literature. With their help a system of instruments for the assessment of the risk of caries was worked out, our basic aim being easy usage of the instruments and comparabilty of the results in time.