What is DMFT?

What is DMFT?

• A. A measure of periodontal health.
• B. An index that represents the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (D, M, F).
• C. A measure of gingival recession.
• D. A measure of tooth eruption timing.

Answer: (B)

DMFT is an index used to measure caries experience. It accounts for the total number of teeth that are decayed, missing due to caries, or filled due to caries. Adding these components gives the DMFT score, which reflects cumulative caries impact for permanent teeth in an individual or a population. It’s a standard tool in dental epidemiology for comparing caries burden over time or between groups. This measure is about caries history and treatment, not periodontal health, gingival recession, or eruption timing, which are unrelated topics.

DMFT is an index used to measure caries experience. It accounts for the total number of teeth that are decayed, missing due to caries, or filled due to caries. Adding these components gives the DMFT score, which reflects cumulative caries impact for permanent teeth in an individual or a population. It’s a standard tool in dental epidemiology for comparing caries burden over time or between groups. This measure is about caries history and treatment, not periodontal health, gingival recession, or eruption timing, which are unrelated topics.