44-year dental health survey of Helsinki schoolchildren

The purpose of the present study was to establish whether the number of intact teeth in Helsinki schoolchildren aged 7-13 years was rationally correlated with the wartime reduction in sugar consumption and, later, with dental health education programs in Finland. The period covered is 44 years. The results show that dental health education is effective in caries prevention and that enforced programs can lead to an improvement similar to that seen during the war.