ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION Prevalence of dental caries and sugar consumption among 6–12-y-old schoolchildren in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines RN Yabao 1 , CA Duante 2 , FV Velandria 2 , M Lucas 3 , A Kassu 4 , M Nakamori 1 and S Yamamoto 1 * 1 Department of International Public Health Nutrition, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan; 2 Department of Science and Technology, Food and Nutrition Research Institute, Manila, Philippines; 3 Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines; and 4 Department of Preventive Environment and Nutrition, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan Objective: To determine the prevalence of dental caries and the level of sugar consumption among 6–12-y-old schoolchildren in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines. Design: A Cross-sectional study as a baseline survey for a later intervention program. A questionnaire was distributed to obtain information on dental history and total consumption of food with sugar. Caries were diagnosed based on the WHO recommendation. Results: A total of 1200 schoolchildren, aged 6–12 y were included. The prevalence of dental caries in primary dentition was 71.7% and in the permanent dentition, 68.2%. The mean total decayed, extracted due to caries and filled primary teeth (DMFT) and decayed, missing and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) were 4.12 (s.d. 4.03) and 2.40 (s.d. 2.57), respectively. As age increased the mean DMFT increased. Majority (70%) had tooth brushing practices, and less than half (42.5%) had a dental visit only when necessary. Their sugar intake was twice more than the WHO recommendation with a mean daily total intake of 59 g per person. Most common sources of dietary sugar were hard candies (89%), banana cue (84.9%), camote cue (84.9%) and soft drinks (84.4%). No significant correlation was found between sugar intake and dental caries. Conclusion: The results indicate that dental caries is highly prevalent and increase with augmented sugar consumption. This maybe due to a widespread neglect of oral health and an increased availability of refined sugary products. Caries rates mirrored those of the developing countries with untreated lesions dominating all ages. The high level of untreated caries in all age groups is a cause for concern. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 1429–1438. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602258; published online 24 August 2005 Keywords: dental caries; sugar consumption; prevalence; schoolchildren; oral health; Philippines Introduction Dental caries is a highly prevalent chronic disease and its consequences cause a lot of pain and suffering. Millions of people throughout the world have lost their teeth due to caries. It is a staggering public health and economic burden to a country, particularly to developing and underdeveloped countries (Rugg-Gunn, 1993; Harel-Raviv et al, 1996). Sugars are the most important dietary etiological cause of dental caries (Sheiham, 1991; Rugg-Gunn, 1993; Harel-Raviv et al, 1996; Jamel et al, 1997; Majewski, 2001; Sheiham, 2001; Moynihan, 2002; Sayegh et al, 2002; Sanders, 2004). Out of the 15 countries in the Western Pacific Region, Philippines is one of the few countries with subjects who still have sextants with deep periodontal pockets (Reyes, 2001). The Philippines have an average of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) of 4.58 among 12-y-olds (Reyes, 2001). In addition to unfluoridized water, inadequate dissemination of information on dental health and the limited coverage of health insurance in the country made the problem worse. In Received 9 December 2004; revised 30 May 2005; accepted 11 June 2005; published online 24 August 2005 *Correspondence: S Yamamoto, Department of International Public Health Nutrition, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan. E-mail: syamamoto@nutr.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp Guarantor: S Yamamoto. Contributors: RNY was involved in the preparation of the research protocol, field management, collection and analysis of data, and manuscript writing. CAD, FVV, ML, AK and MN were involved in the field management, collection and analysis of data. SY was the responsible professor of this study and was involved in the financial arrangement, the preparation of the research protocol, field manage- ment, and manuscript writing. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005) 59, 1429–1438 & 2005 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 0954-3007/05 $30.00 www.nature.com/ejcn