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An experimental investigation has been made into the possibilities of retarding the progress of carious attack by infiltrating cariostatic material into enamel lesions. The problems associated with this kind of procedure are discussed against the background of experimental observations made using a formulation based on a resorcinol-formaldehyde resin.

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The rise and fall of caries prevalence (DMFT) and its relation to changing F concentration of drinking water and other health-related factors is analysed based on dental findings of more than 286,000 subjects of either sex (6–15 years old) from the two industrial towns Chemnitz and Plauen. Water fluoridation (1.0 ± 0.1 ppm F) was implemented in Chemnitz (formerly Karl-Marx-Stadt) in 1959. It was in operation until autumn 1990 with an interruption lasting 22 months around the year 1971. In the F-poor town of comparison, Plauen, 55% of the citizens were supplied with F-enriched drinking water (0.9 ppm F) during the years 1972-1984. Another 20% received F-containing mixed water (0.4–0.7 ppm F). During the first three decades of the study the level of caries prevalence was strictly correlated with the availability of an optimal caries preventive F concentration in the drinking water. Water fluoridation was followed by a decrease of caries, and interruptions in fluoridation were followed by increasing caries levels. A different caries trend was observed in the years from 1987 to 1995. There was a significant caries decrease down to the lowest DMFT (2.0) since 1959 in spite of the fact that only F-poor water was available over years in both towns. This improvement of oral health is explained by changes in caries-preventive and environmental conditions.