Prevalence and Severity of Dental Caries in Foster-Care Children and Adolescents.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries among institutionalized children and adolescents in San José, Costa Rica.

STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional descriptive study included 201 children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 17 years. Participants were selected by following pre-established criteria from 33 shelters located in the province of San José, Costa Rica. The International Caries Detection Assessment System (ICDAS) method was used for caries assessment. ANOVA and Student's T-test were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Caries prevalence was estimated at 96.35% among participants in the study. No significant difference was found for sex (p=0.653) or age group (p=0.349). Regarding caries severity, it was found that early enamel lesions were the most frequent pathology, representing 79.2% of decayed surfaces.

CONCLUSIONS: This study found that different risk factors (social, psychological, economic, and personal) may be related to the high prevalence of dental caries in foster-care children and adolescents. Special strategies may need to be developed to prevent and treat dental caries in this vulnerable population.