Determinants of dental caries in primary school going children of Multan

Background: dental caries is considered most common chronic childhood disease globally. risk factors,for example,behavior,life style,social status,eating habits,hygiene and socio-demographic factors contribute to caries development. daily activities are affected by oral diseases,among these activities; decreased performance and increased absenteeism in schools are most common. aim: to assess the determinants of dental caries among primary school going children of multan. method: a cross-section study was conducted in multan during november,2015 in which 152 primary school children of govt. primary school kotla noor shah,muzaffarabad,multan were included. results: out of 152 primary school children,73% were male and 35.5% were aged 9-10 years. a large number (89.5%) of children brushed their teeth regularly. 98% children cleaned their teeth with toothpaste. 82.9% consumed sweet and toffees. 87.5% children had no gingivitis and 88.2% had no calculus deposits. major proportion (91.4%) of children had no bleeding gums. oral hygiene was observed satisfactory in 84.9% children. among 136 children who brushed their teeth regularly,84 had dental caries and among 126 children who used sweet and toffees,84 had dental caries. conclusion: among children overall hygiene was found satisfactory. dental caries was prevalent among 61.8% children. majority of children who used sweet and toffees had dental caries.