PUFA – An index of clinical consequences of untreated dental caries
by B. Monse, R. Heinrich-Weltzien, H. Benzian, C. Holmgren, and W. van Palenstein Helderman
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2010; 38: 77–82
Adobe PDf file (6 pp. 276 kB)
Dental caries is a global public health problem, especially in children. Most caries in developing countries remains untreated. Only limited data are available on the clinical consequences of untreated dental caries because there is no measure to quantify the prevalence and severity of oral conditions resulting from untreated dental caries.
The objective of this study was to present a new index to evaluate the prevalence and severity of oral conditions resulting from untreated dental caries and to validate the index within the Philippines National Oral Health Survey, 2006.
The authors conclude that the PUFA index complements classical caries indices with relevant information for epidemiologists and health care planners.
