Ranking countries by dental status using the DMFT and FS-T indices

Abstract

Aim: To test the hypothesis that the DMFT index does not adequately reflect the dental status as well as the FS-T index by comparing the country rankings of the DMFT and the FS-T indices in 18 and 35-44 year-olds in a range of countries. The FS-T is the number of filled or sound teeth and is a measure of functional status. Method: The DMFT data from WHO for 18-year-olds and 35-44-year-olds was used and FS-T index values were estimated for the 18-year-olds for 12 countries and for 35-44 age groups for 30 countries. Results: The ranking by DMFT index scores was lower for developed countries than for developing countries. Despite the relatively high DMFT index in developed countries, their FS-T index was higher and therefore the developed countries ranked higher by FS-T compared to their ranking by DMFT. Conclusions: These findings suggest that it may be more useful to use the FS-T index with the DMFT index in studies comparing dental status between countries. © 2005 FDI/World Dental Press.