Effectiveness of Cariogram in assessing caries risk among 12 year old school going children at Puducherry– A Cross Sectional study

Background: Risk assessment is an essential component in the decision- making process for the prevention and management of dental caries. Cariogram® is a computer-based program which was developed to depict caries risk of a person graphically using various factors. Aim and objective: The present study was aimed to compare the effectiveness of Cariogram® in caries risk assessment among 12 year old school children in Puducherry. Material and Methods: The study was done among 60 school going children of 12 years old in Puducherry. The patients were divided into two groups - a high caries group (Decayed, missing and filled teeth index score of 2 and more) and a low caries group (DMFT score of 0 and 1). Data were collected according to standardized pattern developed by Petterson (2005). The results in the Cariogram® software were represented as percentage in five components and analyzed using appropriate statistical tests. Results: The mean of actual chance to avoid new caries between high caries group and low caries group was 50.50 and 82.27 respectively which was statistically significant. The mean of bacterial component in Cariogram was 17.07 in high caries group and 5.73 in low caries group. Remaining three component of Cariogram model - diet, susceptibility and Circumstances were also favorable for the low caries group than the high caries group. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the Cariogram® was effective in assessing the caries risk among school going children in Puducherry.