Clinical Evaluation of Caries Risk Assessment Instrument for Young Adults

Epidemiological data collected from national surveys indicate that the dental caries attack rate in young adults is essentially equivalent to that which is found in teenagers and that approximately 75% of the lesions identified belonged to only 25% of this population. The existence of a practical survey instrument to determine caries risk would be useful to identify young adults in need of preventive measures. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this clinical study was to evaluate a caries risk assessment instrument designed for young adults. METHODS: This investigation involved the recruitment of 321 college students aged 18-25 years of age on two college campuses in Indianapolis. Clinical dental caries examinations were performed at baseline and after 5-6 months by qualified staff working on a mobile dental unit. Prior to each clinical caries examination each student was required to complete the caries risk survey instrument which detailed questions about their gender, race, diet, attitudes, and present lifestyle. The caries examinations were performed using both a conventional clinical examination procedure developed for pre-cavitation assessments (ICDAS) and an instrumental method designed for the early detection of dental caries using fluorescence imaging, Quantitative Light Fluorescence or QLF. RESULTS: Based on caries increments determined using ICDAS, the factors that predicted increased caries risk included tooth-brushing less frequently, not brushing after meals, and not eating a variety of healthful foods. Additional factors detected using the data from the QLF examinations included not flossing, having dental restorations during the past year, not using a fluoride mouth-rinse, snacking between meals, smoking, not obeying traffic laws, poorer safety scale, being younger in the age category, and not consuming dairy products. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this clinical investigation suggested a number of personal characteristics and habits may be useful for predicting caries risk in young adults and support the need for additional investigations.

The study was supported by NIH/NIDCT Grant #1 R43 DE016767-01.