The bitewing radiographs of 1,731 English and Danish schoolchildren aged 13--15 years were examined to assess the prevalence of chronic periodontitis. Only one child (0.06%) was found to be affected in comparison with the high prevalence of 51.5% reported by Hull et al. (1975). Minute qualitative changes in the radiographic appearance of the alveolar crest, or changes in the visual representation of the width of the periodontal ligament space are not reliable or valid criteria for assessing chronic periodontitis. Horizontal bone loss observed on radiographs, which can be accurately measured using the cemento-enamel junction as a reference point, is a useful diagnostic criterion for the measurement of chronic periodontitis.
Information on the social origin, dental health related behavior and patterns of utilization of dental services were collected simultaneously with epidemiologic data on dental caries from 1,719 Danish recruits called‐up for military training at the Karup Air Base during 1972. The findings indicated that the less privileged social groups had more decayed teeth, had lost more teeth and had fewer filled teeth than the more privileged groups. Exposure to the regular care program provided by the School Dental Health Service and the Youth Dental Care Scheme seemed to have a leveling effect among social groups. However, the less privileged social groups had a significantly lower participation rate in the Youth Dental Care Scheme and accounted for a larger number of drop‐outs from the regular care program when compared to the more privileged groups. Rural/urban residency was not found to be associated with the number of DMF teeth or the rate of utilization of the Youth Dental Care Scheme, if selected social variables were held constant.
A 1-year study of the isolated effect of an intensive motivation program aimed at improving the oral health status of 11-13-year-old schoolchildren was conducted in a Danish provincial town where all children have access to a free and comprehensive school oral health program. The effect was negligible as measured by epidemiologic indices.
A 3‐year, unsupervised, toothbrushing study with a double‐blind, controlled design was conducted to evaluate the caries‐preventive effectiveness of a 2 % sodium monofluorophosphate dentifrice among 1,407 7‐ to 12‐year‐old children residing in an optimal, natural fluoride (= 1.2–1.4 parts/106) area of Denmark. With the initial caries lesion as a differential, two levels of clinical caries diagnosis were applied in the quantitative evaluation of the effects. A comparison of the monofluorophosphate dentifrice with a null control dentifrice indicated that its use at home, coupled with regular motivation by home visitors, conferred about a 30 % reduction in dental caries increment over a 3‐year period, beyond those anticariogenic benefits assumed to have been provided by the waterborne fluoride.
This investigation was carried out in order to collect information regarding oral health in a group of schoolchildren in Kandy, Sri Lanka. 614 children of 6.9, 12 and 15 years were selected by stratified random sampling and examined under field conditions. The primary dentition showed a high rate of caries on all types of surfaces. Caries in the permanent dentition was mainly located to pits and fissures below the age of 12 years, after which smooth surface caries developed. The D-component was by far the largest component of the DMF-index in both the primary and the permanent dentition. The results are discussed in the light of the existing dental care delivery system in Sri Lanka.
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