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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Impact of Common Fruit Juices and Toothbrushing on the Discoloration of Primary Teeth
Published on: March 27, 2026
Childhood caries is still in force: a 15-year follow-up
Mattila Marja-Leena1, Rautava Paivi, Jaakkola Sirkka
1Departments of Public Health, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. malema@utu.fi
Objective:
To examine changes in caries prevalence among 3 to 15-year-old adolescents.
Material And Methods:
Of 1582 eligible mothers, 1443 gave informed consent. Participating children and their parents were followed up continuously from 3 to 15 years of age in a pre-planned fashion and at regular intervals. Data on dental health status were obtained from 1066/1287 adolescents (82%) during regular clinical dental examinations.
Results:
Dentinal untreated caries (D) was seen among more than 26% of the adolescents at 15 years of age. Altogether, 4.9 carious teeth surfaces were affected in each case (mean). Close to 18% of the adolescents (186/1066) had poor dental health (DMFT was 5 or more) and 26% (271/1066) had DMFS 5 or more.
Conclusions:
Dental caries continues to constitute an increasing challenge in dental health care: any caries at 3, 5, 7, or 10 years of age was a predictor of poor dental health at 15 years of age.
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