Dental caries status of Chinese children in Johannesburg, South Africa

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Abstract
The dental health status of a representative sample of Johannesburg [South Africa] Chinese schoolchildren, all 250 attending the only Chinese school in the city, was determined. In 18 preschoolchildren, 3-5 yr old, 16.7% were caries-free, mean dmtf [decayed-missing-filled teeth] was 7.1 .+-. 5.8 and labial caries were present in 33.3%. In 165 primary school children aged 5-16 yr, the mean dmft was 5.0 .+-. 3.2 with 20% of the primary dentition caries-free and the mean dmft was 2.4 .+-. 1.9. Of the primary schoolchildren, 4.8% were caries-free. In 67 high-school pupils, 11-17 yr old, 4.5% were caries-free and the mean dmft score was 7.1 .+-. 3.9. Caries prevalences among the Chinese were similar to corresponding groups of children of Chinese immigrants in the UK and Malaysia.