Deciduous molar hypomineralization and the country of birth of the mother play a role in the prevalence of dental caries. These aetiological factors associated with childhood dental caries need to be investigated further in longitudinal clinical trials.

DMFT, dental plaque, gingival bleeding and periodontal indices did not change remarkably after two years, comparing dialysis and renal transplant patients. Renal transplantation enhances salivary flow and decreases symptoms of xerostomia and thirst, and hence enhances the potential to improve the quality of life of affected individuals.

The results suggest that the periodontal health of Dutch adults aged 25-54 years has improved since 1983.

The aim of this study was to determine, for different age groups, the additional value of bite–wing radiographs compared to the clinical information, and to calculate the subsequent effect on the DMFS index. Subjects were 14, 17, 20, 23 years old, or in the age groups 25–34 and 35–54, who participated in a clinical epidemiological survey. After obtaining consent, bite–wings were taken of approximately 25% of the participants (n = 663). The extra diagnostic yield of the bite–wings varied between 163 and 700% for approximal dentine caries diagnosis of untreated surfaces, and between 233 and 593% for inadequate restoration judgement for filled surfaces. The DS score went up by about 20–98%, whereas the DMFS index increased between 1 and 12%, resulting in a radiographic correction factor of 1.01–1.12. In conclusion, the considerable increase in the prevalence of approximal dentinal lesions and inadequate restorations for all age groups results in higher numbers of surfaces in need of treatment, but is not accompanied by a significant increase in DMFS scores.

In this study, the clinical and radiographic material of two groups of 17- and 20-yr-old adolescents, born either in 1970 or in 1976, was compared to study changes in the prevalence of occlusal dentine caries and to determine the additional value of the bitewing radiographs. The first and second molars of 478 participants were included. Clinical data were derived from an epidemiological project. Two examiners judged the bitewing radiographs, of which about 10% was examined by both. The overall Cohen's kappa for interexaminer agreement was 0.87. The prevalence of occlusal caries had not changed for the two age groups; after clinical and radiographic examination, around 33% of the occlusal surfaces of the 17 yr olds and around 25% of the 20 yr olds exhibited dentine caries. The clinical prevalence of occlusal caries in first and second molars was highly underestimated when compared with the radiographs. In the 1976 group, more sealants were recorded during the clinical examination. On the bitewing radiographs, radiolucencies were found underneath one-half of the sealants of the 17 yr olds and underneath one quarter of the sealants present in the 20 yr olds.

A parallel-randomized controlled trial on caries-preventive strategies was conducted in a general dental practice with a mixed socioeconomic background patient population. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that, compared to regular care consisting of check-ups twice a year with professional fluoride applications and pit and fissure sealants in all permanent molars, a larger caries-preventive effect can be achieved by following a non-operative caries treatment and prevention (NOCTP) strategy or by following, in addition to regular care, an increased number of professional topical fluoride applications (IPFA). A total of 230 children (6.0 years ± 3 months of age) were randomly assigned to the two experimental groups or the control group. After 3 years, 179 participants remained in the study (54 NOCTP, 62 IPFA and 63 control). The children were examined at baseline and at 3 years by the same experienced examiner, who was blinded for the allocation of the children. Caries was scored clinically at the D₃ level. Per protocol analysis revealed a mean DMFS increment after 3 years of 0.15 (95% CI -0.05 to 0.35) for NOCTP, 0.34 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.54) for IPFA and 0.47 (95% CI 0.26 to 0.68) for the control group. To account for missing data, multiple imputation was used, after which the mean DMFS increment was 0.11 (95% CI -0.05 to 0.27) for NOCTP, 0.29 (95% CI 0.11 to 0.46) for IPFA and 0.40 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.55) for the control group. Testing the differences with independent samples t test revealed a lower caries increment in the NOCTP group compared to the control group. ANCOVA was used to correct for differences in baseline dmfs, socioeconomic status and perceived dental hygiene burden. The ΔDMFS effect size between the NOCTP and the control group dropped, losing statistical significance (p = 0.06). Although the results in this study are promising, it has yet to be established in a larger study whether NOCTP has the ability to be effective in regular dental practice with a mixed socioeconomic status population.

It was concluded that the prevalence of approximal caries and inadequate restorations in this clinical epidemiological study was highly underestimated. At least for these age groups the results contain a serious warning for epidemiologists and general dental practitioners with respect to the outcome of clinical caries diagnosis.

Q-methodology appears to be a fruitful way to structure the complexity of parents' opinions and attitudes towards their children's dental health. It appears that Q-methodology provides comprehensive clusters of individual attitudes, based on various levels of responses to a wide range of questions. The five identified profiles may be useful in developing tailor-made prevention strategies in caries prevention.