Caries Experience Among Institutionalized Children in the Pacific Northwest

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Abstract
The caries experience of 327 school children from the ages 6-14 years living in 4 institutions located in the states of Oregon and Washington was determined by means of mouth mirror and explorer. The average number of decayed, missing and filled (DMF) teeth of the 6-year-old child was 2.06 and it increased to 14.95 DMF teeth at the age of 14 years. The findings are not in agreement with the generally accepted opinion that institutionalized children tend to be less susceptible to caries attack than children attending public schools. The over-all food intake of the children while in residence at the institutions showed that their diet could be considered well balanced. That the children of this study lived away from the institutions during the summer months may have been the main factor for their high caries experience rates.