Background: Bulang is an ethnic minority group living in Yunnan in the southwestern part of China. There is little\ninformation pertaining to the oral health of Bulang children. This study aims to examine the dental caries and\nperiodontal status of 12-year-old Bulang children in China and the factors affecting their oral-health status.\nMethods: 12-year-old Bulang school children in Yunnan, China, were recruited through a multi-stage cluster\nsampling method. Following the recommendation of the World Health Organization, caries experiences were\nrecorded using the DMFT index and periodontal status with the CPI index. A self-completed questionnaire was used\nto collect information on the background and oral health-related behaviours of the children.\nResults: A total of 900 children in primary schools were invited, and 873 (97%) joined the survey. Their caries\nprevalence was 35%. Their caries experience in mean DMFT (�±SD) score was 0.6 �± 1.1, and 94% of the carious teeth\nhad no treatment. Most children (71%) had bleeding gums, and 58% of them had calculus. Girls and those who\nhad visited a dentist in the previous year had higher caries risk.\nConclusions: Dental caries was common among the 12-year-old Bulang children in China. Most of the carious\nteeth were left untreated. Caries prevalence was associated with gender and dental attendance. Their periodontal\ncondition was poor, and more than half of them had calculus.
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