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Caries among Danish schoolchildren in birth‐cohorts 1950–78
Author(s) -
Helm Sven,
Helm Tove
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1990.tb00018.x
Subject(s) - medicine , danish , dentition , cohort study , cohort , permanent dentition , demography , dentistry , environmental health , epidemiology , oral health , public health , pediatrics , philosophy , linguistics , pathology , sociology , nursing
Data on caries prevalence are reported from 8‐ and 16‐yr‐old children living in a Danish community which established the Public Child Dental Health Service in 1957. Every fourth birth‐cohort from 1950 through 1970 was followed longitudinally. In the 8‐yr‐olds, caries prevalence decreased in the primary dentition from 17 to 3 dmfs and in the permanent dentition from 3.4 to 0.3 DMFS over a 28‐yr period. Among the 16‐yr‐olds, a reduction was observed from 16.4 to 5.1 DMFS over 20 yr. Time trends in the decreasing caries prevalence are related to various organizational events and preventive measures. Moreover, the possible influence of general changes in living conditions and health behavior is pointed out.