Dental caries in South African white children aged 1-5 years

The dentitions of 499 white preschoolchildren aged 1-5 years from a low fluoride area were examined with mirror and probe. The dmft values ranged from 1.0 +/- 2.0 at 1 year of age to 5.1 +/- 4.5 at 5 years of age while the overall mean for the group was 3.7 +/- 4.1. ""Rampant" caries prevalence varied according to the definition used. It is suggested that for epidemiologic studies rampant caries should be defined as a dmft value of 5 or more and that labial caries should be regarded as a specific entity.