Caries status and treatment needs of 6- and 12-year-old Western Cape learners in the public sector.

Abstract

There is a need for good oral health data in the Western Cape as effective health care requires good information. The most recent survey was carried out in 2002 (van Wyk and van Wyk, 2004) and therefore there is no current information on the oral disease burden, nor the oral health treatment needs of children in the Western Cape. The Provincial Government of the Western Cape had requested data to be collected to evaluate the roll out of the fissure sealant programme in the Western Cape as part of the Primary Preventive Primary School Oral Health Programme. This data collected from 2011 included the caries status and treatment need of each primary and permanent tooth, in a sample of 6- and 12-year-old children, at selected provincial schools in this province. The programme was rolled out, but suddenly terminated in 2019 which limited the ability to conduct a complete analysis.