DMFT index among dental undergraduates of Lahore Medical and Dental College in different professional years of dentistry

ABSTRACT

This cross-sectional study was carried out at Lahore Medical and Dental College to evaluate dental caries status amongst the dental undergraduates. The decayed, missing and filled teeth were evaluated according to the DMFT scoring scale .310 dental students from first year to final year with age ranging from 18-24 years were included in the study. The overall mean DMFT score was 1.38 +/- 0.54 with decay [D] component of 0.54 +/- 0.62, missing [M] component of 0.01 +/- 0.10 and filled component of 0.83 +/- 0.68. There was no significant difference in mean DMFT score among the different professional years [p=0.192]. However the decay component of the mean DMFT was significantly [p=0.001] decreased and filled component significantly increased [p=0.0001], as the student passed through different professional years, reflecting positive influence of their dental education on their oral health status