Characteristics and Risk Factors of High Caries Risk Group in 12-year-old Children Using Data from the 2015 Children’s Oral Health Survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of the high caries risk group of 12-year-old children in Korea.Oral health status and interview data were collected from 23,089 children aged 12 years who participated in the 2015 Korean Children’s Oral Health Survey. Subjects were classified into high-risk and low-risk groups according to the Significant caries (SiC) index, and the influence of each variable was analyzed.As a result of the study, the SiC index of the high-risk group was 5.08, which was about 9.6 times higher than the lowrisk group. The risk factors associated with the high-risk group were in the order of the number of sealant teeth, dental treatment demand for the past year, perceived oral health status, gender, region, frequency of snack intake per day, and use of oral hygiene aids.In order to improve the oral health of children, appropriate preventive treatment and oral health education should be carried out with reference to the items indicated as risk factors in the high-risk group of dental caries.