Aim:  The main purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and distribution of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) and enamel hypoplasia in 12-year old students in junior high school in Iran.

Materials and Methods:  This descriptive study was carried out in 2001 on 1,223 12-year old students, which were randomly selected in Yazd and Hadi-Shahr, Iran.  A questionnaire was designed to record the status of the teeth along with the occupational and educational levels of parents.  Data was analyzed using SPSS software, the Chi-square test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results:  The mean DMFT score was 1.8 ± 1.75 and 28.6% of the students were caries-free.  There was no significant relationship between DMFT and the rate of dental caries with parents' education and occupation.  The percentage of enamel hypoplasia was 32.7%.  No statistically significant relationships were found between hypoplasia and DMFT with regard to gender.  The relationship between enamel hypoplasia with DMFT score and dental caries was statistically significant.

Conclusion:  In the present study findings for DMFT scores in 12-year old junior high school children are higher than global standards according to the World Health Organization (WHO) references for the year 2000.  There was a strong association between enamel hypoplasia and dental caries, and this subject suggests early diagnosis of enamel defects, health education programs, and suitable treatments should be emphasized in junior high school-aged children.

Keywords:  MFT score, enamel hypoplasia, enamel defects

Citation:   Daneshkazemi AR, Davari A.  Assessment of DMFT and Enamel Hypoplasia Among Junior High School Children in Iran.  J Contemp Dent Pract 2005 November;(6)4:085-092.