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Changes in the caries experience of 12‐year‐old Sydney schoolchildren between 1963 and 1982
Author(s) -
Burton V. Jean,
Rob Marilyn I.,
Craig Graham C.,
Lawson James S.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1984.tb108100.x
Subject(s) - dentistry , water fluoridation , medicine , oral health , fluoride , dental health , inorganic chemistry , chemistry
A study of the caries experience of 12‐year‐old children attending public high schools in the northern suburbs of Sydney was undertaken in 1982. The data obtained were compared with those from a similar study conducted in the same area in 1963. In the period between the two examinations, Sydney's water supply was fluoridated and fluoride toothpastes became widely available. There was a major improvement in dental health in the 19‐year interval between the surveys. The mean number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) per child declined from 8.49 in 1963 to 1.37 in 1982, a reduction of 84%. An analysis of the DMFT index showed that the greatest reductions occurred in the decayed tooth (DT), and missing tooth (MT) components (95% and 94%, respectively). In 1982, in contrast to the situation in 1963, the backlog of unmet restorative dentistry needs was low.