[WHO activities in the epidemiology of dental caries (author's transl)]

The WHO program on the epidemiology of dental caries is presented: the activities undertaken in this program include the elaboration of appropriate methodology, the collection and classification of data to be used for planning services, and assistance to countries in planning and executing surveys of dental and oral health. Information available in the WHO Data Bank on the worldwide pattern of oral and dental diseases in developing and technically developed countries are studied, as well as the trends in the prevalence of caries. The WHO program of oral and dental disease prevention, started because of the increase in prevalence of caries in developing countries, is described briefly.