[The incidence of caries in juvenile diabetics (author's transl)]

The present state of knowledge regarding the aetiology of caries implicates the interrelationship between low-molecular carbohydrates and the bacterial flora as an essential factor in the potential development of caries. Persons with hereditary fructose intolerance and patients with diabetes mellitus are of special interest in studying these interrelations. The DMF/S index was calculated and a regression analysis carried out in 101 diabetic children and juveniles aged 4 to 18. The incidence of dentine caries was significantly lower in children with onset of diabetes preceding the appearance of the second dentition than in children with manifest diabetes of up to 3 years' duration. The DMF/S index was high in individual patients in spite of the prescribed dietary treatment.