Results The overall caries prevalence among the sample was 74.8%. The mean decayed,
missing, and filled (dmft) score was 6.1 (SD 3.9) with a decay component of 4.66, a missing
component of 0.54, and a filled component of 0.92. There was no significant difference (p>.
05) in caries prevalence and severity in relation to gender of the children. However, the
caries prevalence and severity were significantly higher (p<. 05) among children from
government preschools as compared to those from private preschools. Among the posterior …

Objectives: To determine the prevalence, severity and pattern of caries in preschool children
of Al-Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Three hundred and twenty two randomly
selected pre-school children were examined in kindergartens of Al-Hasa, Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia for dental caries using World Health Organization criteria for the diagnosis of caries.
The study was completed in 2000. Results: The mean decayed missing and filled teeth
score in the 322 pre-school children examined was 2.92 (standard deviation 3.51) with …