Distribution of caries among tooth types in fluoride and non-fluoride areas

A method is described for estimating the preferential caries protective action of fluoride on certain morphological types of permanent teeth. The results of an analysis by this method, applied to data for 1164 Austrian school-children aged 6--14 years, are reported. There was no indication that fluoride would exert its caries inhibitory effect selectively on certain types of teeth. Tentative explanations are put forward for the only inconsistency within the general results observed in 11--14-year-old children having a total of 3 carious teeth.