Introduction: Dental caries is the most common oral disease in all age groups. Being more and more frequent in preschool and school-age children, it has become one of the most important problems in oral pathology. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of dental caries in schoolchildren aged 12 and 15 years in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija, as well as to inform them about the importance of oral health. Materials and Methods: The study included 626 schoolchildren of both sexes from five schools from the municipalities of Kosovska Mitrovica, Zvečan and Leposavić. Klein-Palmer DMFT system (D-Decayed, M-Missing, F-filled) was used to estimate the prevalence of dental caries the following indices were also used: Person Caries Index, Teeth Caries Index, Average Caries Index and DMFT structure. All the selected children were examined using standard dental diagnostic agents. Tooth surfaces were examined dry under artificial lighting. Results: The average value of DMFT index for children aged 12 and 15 years was 4.2. On average, 92.3% of the examined children had caries. The mean value of caries index was 15.11%.Conclusion: After these new epidemiological studies, it can be concluded that the state of children's oral health, considering the high levels of untreated caries and all other features of DMFT index, is not satisfactory. This situation points to the necessity of applying modern preventive and prophylactic measures to preserve and improve the population oral health.

Frequent occurrence of dental caries and periodontal diseases, especially gingivitis, in school-aged children, is becoming one of the most important problems in oral pathology, although they all can be brought under control through health education and implementation of preventive and prophylactic measures. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of dental caries and gingivitis in children, aged 12 years, attending primary schools in Kosovska Mitrovica, as an urban area, and schools in Gračanica and Laplje Selo, as rural areas. The study included 227 schoolchildren, aged 12 years, divided into two groups. One group, 129 of them, consisted of children from primary schools in Kosovska Mitrovica, as urban areas. The other group, 98 of them, consisted of children from primary schools in Gračanica and Laplje Selo, as rural areas. Klein-Palmer DMFT system (D-Decayed, M-Missing, F-filled) was used to estimate the prevalence of dental caries, while Silness-Löe plaque index, Löe-Silness gingival index and Muhlemann sulcus bleeding index were used to estimate the level of oral hygiene, gingival status and severity of gingival inflammation. The average number of permanent teeth with caries per respondent (DMFT) was 4.6 in total, for all children. The average value of DMFT in children from urban areas was 3.8, and 5.3 in children from rural areas. SiC Index was 7.9. The average value of the plaque index (PI) was 1.53±0.61, of the gingival index (GI)1.05±0.58 and of the bleeding index (BI) 0.64±0.59. The established state of oral health and periodontium in examined children points to the necessity of applying modern preventive and prophylactic measures in order to improve the oral health and increase the motivation for the overall health care.