Studies on Dental Caries: IX. The Prevalence and Incidence of Dental Caries Experience, Dental Care, and Carious Defects Requiring Treatment in High School Children

Abstract

Analyses of material collected from detailed dental examination of 1,800 children, 13-19 yrs. old, attending the high schools of 6 communities of Maryland indicate that: Incidence of new caries is 0.6 affected permanent teeth and 2 affected permanent tooth surfaces per high school child per yr. Incidence of dental care in the form of fillings is 0.4 filled permanent teeth and 0.6 filled permanent tooth surfaces per high school child per yr. The av. disparity, over the high school interval, between the rates of incidence of caries and provision of care by fillings accounts for an average of about 14 permanent teeth extracted or with remaining roots per high school child. The av. disparity between the annual rate of development of caries and the annual rate of placement of fillings may serve as a measure of the adequacy of dental care received by population groups.