OBJECTIVETo study whether the caries status of the primary dentition correlated with status of the permanent in the same cohort over an eight-year period. To determine whether the caries status of the primary dentition can be used to predict caries in the permanent dentition.

METHODSA total of 362 children, 3 - 4 years old in the baseline study in 1992 were re-examined in 2000 based on WHO criteria and methods.

RESULTSStatistically significant associations were observed between the caries prevalence in primary and permanent teeth (P < 0.01) and between DMFT(s) and dmft(s) (P < 0.01). Children who had caries in the primary teeth were nearly three times more likely to have caries in the permanent teeth (RR = 2.6,95% CI = 1.4 - 4.7, P < 0.001). The highest sensitivity (93.9%) for prediction caries in the permanent dentition was found in caries presence on any of the eight primary molars, for which the relative ratio was 3.3 (95% CI = 1.8 - 6.1, P < 0.001) and the positive prediction value was 85.4%.

CONCLUSIONThe study determinate clearly that caries status in the primary teeth can be used as a risk indicator for predicting caries in the permanent dentition.