OBJECTIVES: to determine the prevalence and severity of dental caries and the need to treat pre-school aged between five and six years in a municipality with fluorinated water. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was carried out using a census examining 432 children aged between five and six years, of both sexes, from municipal public schools in Passo Fundo, in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul. An epidemiological survey was conducted using clinical examinations and demographic data on the pre-school children, in accordance with the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization. The investigators were duly trained in the application of common standards, obtaining a result of 0.91 on the Kappa test. The study was sent to and approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Institute of Cardiology in Porto Alegre-RS. RESULTS: the ceo-d índex was 4.1 (±3.73) and only 106 (24.5%) of children were free of caries in milk teeth; the prevalence of the need for treatment of caries was 69.9%. CONCLUSIONS: a high prevalence of dental caries and widespread need for treatment was found, indicating that the oral health promotion strategies used in the municipality are still not proving to be effective.
Prevalence; Dental caries; Epidemiology; Dentition, primary
