Treatment of caries and periodontitis in Sweden in 1974-77

During 1974 and 1975 a sample of individuals in Sweden between 20 and 60 years were interviewed about dental care habits. 938 of them were then clinically examined. An estimation of the time needed for treatment of dental caries and periodontitis was based upon the clinical examination. Dental status and the estimated treatment time were then related to the dental care carried out during one period of 18 months and one of 48 months after the clinical examination. For these calculations, information on dental care was acquired from the patient register of the National Social Insurance Board. The results derived from the analyses showed that the requisite time for treating caries related well to the treatment executed. On the other hand the time for treating periodontal disease showed a poorer agreement with what could have been expected from the clinical periodontal status. The treatment time devoted to periodontal disease was considerably higher in the metropolitan areas, with their higher density of dentists, than in other parts of Sweden. Thus, dental care in Sweden between 1974 and 1978 concentrated primarily on restorative procedures while a progression of periodontal disease was largely ignored by dental practitioners.