This document discusses various indices used to assess dental caries, including the DMFT index, DMFS index, and deft/dfs indices. The DMFT index quantifies a person's lifetime caries experience in permanent teeth based on the number of Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth. It provides information on caries prevalence, experience, and treatment needs in a population over time. The DMFS index is similar but examines individual tooth surfaces. Indices for primary teeth include the deft and dfs indices which parallel the DMFT and DMFS indices. Caries indices are never combined for mixed dentition which examines permanent and primary teeth separately.

1. Preventive & Community Dentistry
Indices for
Dental Caries
By: Abbas Naseem 2nd year BDS
abbas_naseem@yahoo.com
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2. Index
• “A numerical value, describing the relative
status of a population, on a graduated
scale with definite upper & lower limits,
designed to Permit & Facilitate comparison
with other populations classified by the
same criteria & methods.” – Russel A.L
IDEAL REQUISITES OF AN INDEX
Clarity, Simplicity and Objectivity.
Validity
Reliability
Quantifiability
Sensitivity
Acceptability
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

3. INDICES USED FOR
ASSESSMENT OF
DENTAL CARIES
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

4. INDICES USED FOR
ASSESSMENT OF DENTAL
CARIES
Commonly Used ! Other Indices
Permanent Teeth STONE’S INDEX
1. DMFT CZECHOSLOVAKIAN CARIES
2. DMFS INDEX (CCI)
3. DMFSS CARIES SUSCEPTIBILITY
Primary Teeth INDEX
1. dft DMF SURFACE PERCENTAGE
2. dfs INDEX (DMFS PI)
3. dfss RESTORATIVE INDEX (RI)
Mixed Dentition MODIFIED DMFT INDEX
1. (dft) & (DMFT) CARIES SEVERITY INDEX
2. (dfs) & (DMFS) (Csi)
FUNCTIONAL MEASURE
INDEX (FMI)
TISSUE HEALTH INDEX
DENTAL HEALTH INDEX
(DHI) 4
SIGNIFICANT CARIES INDEX
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

5. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
• DMFT Index is a quantitative expression of a person’s
lifetime caries experience in the permanent teeth.
i.e its Purpose is to determine total dental caries expe
Advantages / Uses of DMFT Index:
Caries experience (past & present) & prevalence of an individual &
community can be found out.
By using caries experience, oral health status can be estimated
indirectly.
It gives a broad overview of caries experience in a population over a
period of time.
D- Component gives tooth status affected by Dental caries (Caries
Morbidity).
M- Component gives tooth lost (Caries Mortality).
F- Component gives the account of fillings done among the
populations. 5
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

6. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

7. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
• Instruments Used:
Dental Mouth Mirror
A No. 23 explorer,
also known as a
'sickle probe' OR
shepherd's hook
probe
DMFT Index is Irreversible Index.
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

8. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index Principles & Rules in Recording
DMFT
Based on 28 teeth RULES OF DMFT:
Teeth not counted: No tooth should be recorded
Third molars. more than once,either
Unerupted teeth. decayed ,missing or filled
Congenitally missing & teeth.
Decayed, missing and filled
supernumerary teeth.
teeth should be recorded
Teeth removed for separately.
reasons other than Secondary caries below the
dental caries such as filling should be counted as
orthodontic treatment or decayed.
impaction. Teeth missing only due to
Teeth restored for caries should be counted as
reasons other than missing & also those which
dental caries such as are indicated for extraction
Unerupted teeth,missing due8
trauma (fracture)
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS to accident, congenitally

9. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index Principles & Rules in Recording DMFT
A tooth which is restored
separately on different surfaces
should be counted only once as
filled tooth.
A tooth which is decayed as well
as filled is considered as decayed.
Deciduous teeth should not be
counted.
A tooth is considered to be
erupted when the occlusal surface
or incisal edge is totally exposed.
A tooth is considered to be present
even though the crown has been
destroyed and only the roots are
left.
The DMF score for an individual
can range from 0 to 28,in whole9
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS numbers

10. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
W.H.O
MODIFICATIONS(1986)
All third molars are included.
Temporary restorations are
considered as ‘D’
Only carious cavities are
considered as ‘D’
The initial lesions (chalky spots, stained
fissures, etc) are not considered as’D'
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

11. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

12. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
• Calculations of DMFT Index;
Individual DMFT
Total each component i.e D, M, & F separately,
then
total D+M+F= DMFT
Group Average
Total DMFT for each individual.
Then divide the total ‘DMF’ by the # of
individuals in the group.
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

13. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
Disadvantages / Limitations of DMFT
Index:
1-) DMFT values are not related to the number of teeth at risk. So,
it does not directly give an indication of the intensity of
attack of caries.
2-) DMF T can be invalid in older adults because teeth can become lost
for reasons other than caries.
3-) DMFT index can be misleading in children whose teeth have been
lost due to orthodontic treatment.
4-) DMFT index can overestimate caries experience in teeth
in which preventive filling have been placed.
5-) DMFT index cannot be used for Root Caries.
6-) Even under extreme conditions, the scores are same.
7-) Doesn’t give account for treatment needs.
8-) Rate of caries progression cannot be assessed in terms of how
fast caries is progressing OR how fast caries has progressed.
9-) Reaches Saturation level at a particular point of time when all the
teeth are involved & prevents further registration of caries attack
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS even when caries activity is contiuing.

14. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
Identify … ???
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

15. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS 15

16. 16
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

17. DMFT Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Index
Filled & Decayed
Missing
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS 17

18. DMFS Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Surface Index
“When the DMFT Index is employed to
assess Each Individual surface of each
tooth, it is termed as DMFS Index.“
The principles, rules, & criteria for DMFS
Index is the same as that of DMFT index,
only difference is that in DMFS Index;
>> The Surfaces are examined <<.
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

19. DMFS Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Surface Index
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

20. DMFS Index
Decayed, Missing, Filled
Surface Index
Advantages / Uses of DMFS Index:
1-) DMFS Index; is Index of choice in a clinical trial of a caries
preventive agent.
2-) More Precise
3-) More Sensitive
4-) Gives true status of caries attack.
Disadvantages / Limitations of DMFS
Index:
1-) Takes a longer time.
2-) More likely to produce inconsistencies in diagnosis &
require use of radiographs to be fully accurate.
3-) Prevalence of dental caries is expressed as %age of population
showing any evidence of caries & this measure is useful
while caries is low.
4-) DMFT used in large surveys to have quantitative measure of
caries experience without using radiographs.
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS 20
5-) Dental caries experience is all one can find from Cross-Sectional

21. INDICES FOR PRIMARY
DENTITION
deft or defs index (dft or dfs index)
• Caries indices used for primary dentition
are equivalent to indices used in permanent
dentition.
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS 21

22. INDICES FOR PRIMARY
DENTITION – dft or dfs index
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

23. INDICES FOR MIXED DENTITION
• In case of mixed dentition, Caries
Indices for the permanent teeth &
deciduous teeth have to be done
separately.
• The DMFT or DMFS
& dft or dfs are never added together.
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By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS

24. “ The whole art of teaching is
only art of awakening the
natural curosity of young
minds for the purpose of
satisfying it afterwards. ”
Anatole
France
Abbas Naseem
Dated: August 12, 2010
By: Abbas Naseem - 2nd Year BDS abbas_naseem@yahoo.com24