Title

Prevalence of dental caries among children attending public versus private schools: A cross-sectional comparative analysis

Authors

Anju Singh^1,*& Konark Singh²

Affiliation

¹Department of Dentistry, Patna Medical College and Hospital, Patna, Bihar, India; ²Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Patna Dental College and Hospital, Patna, Bihar, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Anju Singh - E-mail: dranjusingh09@gmail.com
Konark Singh - E-mail: konarksingh22@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received November 15, 2025; Revised December 15, 2025; Accepted December 15, 2025, Published December 15, 2025

Abstract

Dental caries represents a major global public health challenge, particularly among children in low-socioeconomic settings, where poor oral hygiene, high sugar intake, and limited access to dental care exacerbate prevalence and severity, leading to pain, infection, and long-term oral health disparities. Hence, a cross-sectional comparative study was conducted on 812 schoolchildren aged 8-10 years, selected via a multistage random sampling method from public (n=405) and private (n=407) schools. Data were collected through a clinical oral examination using the World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 criteria to determine the Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index for both primary (DMFT) and permanent (DMFT) dentition. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to gather information on oral hygiene practices and dietary habits. A significant disparity in dental caries prevalence and experience exists between children attending public and private schools, with the burden being substantially higher in the public school population. Thus, we show the influence of socioeconomic factors on children's oral health and highlight the urgent need for targeted, school-based public health interventions in underprivileged communities.

Keywords

Dental caries, socioeconomic status, school children, oral health disparities, DMFT index, public health dentistry

Citation

Singh & Singh, Bioinformation 21(12): 4668-4672 (2025)

Edited by

Vini Mehta

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.