Declining attendances for general anaesthesia and tooth extractions in children following the fluoridation of Melbourne

Attendances for tooth extractions under general anaesthesia in children aged one to seven years at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne have declined about 80 per cent from 1977 to 1986. The form of the decline follows the general pattern of decreasing dental caries in younger children in Melbourne since fluoridation. Since 1983 the numbers of attendances and extractions have remained relatively constant. Now younger children requiring fewer extractions are attending the Hospital. While there has been an increase in the proportion of those needing one or two teeth removed, fewer children are having three or more teeth removed. Nevertheless a small proportion of children still require 10 or more teeth removed. Two‐thirds of the children presenting since 1983 have been life‐time residents of Melbourne, indicating that more than fluoridation is required to reduce dental caries to manageable proportions in some high risk groups.