Abstract: Objective To survey the prevalence of permanent dental caries among 35- to 74-year-old adults and senior citizens in Jiangsu Province, and to provide scientific basis for further development of oral health service and prevention for adults in Jiangsu Province. Methods With reference to WHO "basic methods of oral health survey" (4th edition), a multistage stratified random sampling method was adopted to carry out oral health examination and questionnaire survey among 35- to 74-year-old adults and senior citizens in 4 counties of Jiangsu Province. The CPI probe was used to examine root caries of complete permanent teeth and the caries prevalence rate and the mean DMFT were calculated. Results A total of 450 35- to 74-year-old adults and senior citizens participated in the survey. Among them, 49.33% (222/450) were male, 50.89% (229/450) were urban residents, and 60.44% (272/450) had dental caries. Caries rates increased with age. Among them, the mean DMFT of crown in urban was 8.031±7.269, and the rural was 7.466±6.473. There was no difference between urban and rural (P>0.05). The mean DMFT of male was 7.901±6.996, and the female was 7.610±6.794. There was no difference between two genders (P>0.05). As the age increased, the mean DMFT of crown increased, and the differences between the groups were statistically significant (P<0.001). The higher the level of education was, the lower the mean DMFT of root was, and the differences between the groups were statistically significant (P<0.001). The mean DMFT of root in urban was 0.555±1.464, and the rural was 0.348±0.900. There was no difference between urban and rural (P>0.05). The mean DMFT of root in male was 0.482±1.254 and the female was 0.425±1.194. There was no difference between two genders (P>0.05). The mean DMFT of root increased with age, and the differences between the groups were statistically significant (P<0.001). There was no difference between the groups of different education levels (P>0.05). Conclusion The incidence of dental caries is high and the oral health condition is poor among the 35- to 74-year-old people in Jiangsu Province. It is suggested to strengthen oral health education and preventive health care for the middle-aged and elderly people, especially the aged.

Key words: Jiangsu Province, middle aged and elderly people, dental caries, inventory survey