The dental needs of Birkirkara primary school children

Abstract

A dental survey, consisting of a clinical examination, was performed on 1543 school children, aged four to thirteen years attending the Government Primary School at Birkirkara between the months of February and June, 1970. The objectives of this survey were: (1) to determine the extent to which existing dental services are coping with the current need for treatment. (2) To obtain an estimate of the prevalence of specific oral diseases and conditions requiring treatment. (3) To provide base-line data for subsequent evaluation of dental services and preventive programmes. (4) To obtain oral health data needed when estimating the cost of maintaining and expanding a dental health programme. An estimate of the prevalence of specific oral diseases and conditions and current needs for treatment has been obtained. School Dental Health programmes have great usefulness, when based upon dental health education, case finding and preventive procedures. They succeed best when they include good cooperation with medical and school personnel.