Global changes in caries prevalence and dental manpower requirements: 1. Assembling and analyzing the data

A Joint Working Group of the WHO and FDI was formed in 1981 to investigate the dramatic decrease in caries in children and young people that had been observed in a number of industrialized countries in the 1970s. The results of this investigation are reported in this series of 3 articles. Part 1 describes the assembly and analysis of all available data on oral health, sugar consumption, fluoride availability and other preventive programmes from 20 selected countries. These data showed that nine developed countries had achieved substantial reductions in caries (25-60%) in 5- and 12-year-old children. The most probable reasons will be examined in Part 2, where it will be concluded that the single most important factor was the availability of fluoride toothpaste. The possible effects on dental manpower needs of a declining caries incidence will be discussed in Part 3.