OBJECTIVETo investigate the status of deciduous dental caries among preschool children in Chongqing city and to compare the oral health status of preschoolers from public and private kindergarten.

METHODSAccording to the criteria recommended by The Third National Oral Health Investigation, the deciduous caries of 5 030 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years old from 40 private kindergartens and 16 public kindergartens in Yuzhong district of Chongqing were examined. The prevalence of dental caries and the mean dmft and filling rate were calculated. The results were analyzed using SPSS 21.0 software package.

RESULTSMaxillary deciduous central incisors and mandibular deciduous molar were most prone to decay in 5,030 children. The prevalence of dental caries was 54.08% (2,720/5,030). The mean dmft score was 2.58 and the filling rate was 0.98% (127/12,993). The prevalence of dental caries and mean dmft increased gradually as the children were growing up (P < 0.05). The rate of filling teeth of the 6 year old group was higher than other groups (P < 0.05). No significant difference between males and females were noted (P > 0.05). The prevalence rate of deciduous dental caries among private kindergartens was 61.04% (1,656/2,713), with a mean dmft of 3.12 and filling rate of 0.35% (30/8,465). The prevalence rate of deciduous dental caries among public kindergartens was 45.92% (1,064/2,317), with a mean dmft of 1.95 and filling rate of 2.14% (97/4,528). Statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the prevalence rate, mean dmft, and filling rate between two kinds of kindergarten (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONDeciduous dental caries of preschool children is an important problem in Chongqing city and the children from private kindergarten had very low filling rate.