Caries prevalence in the United Kingdom

Since 1973, national surveys of dental caries in children, one series directed decennially by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and another, using analogous methods, coordinated regionally on a regular basis by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry, have produced a comprehensive record of trends in caries experience of children in England and Wales. Between 1973 and 1993 a decline in caries experience of 55 per cent in deciduous teeth of 5-year-old children, 75 per cent in permanent teeth of 12-year-old, and 74 per cent in 14-year-old children, was documented. However, the most recent surveys, carried out since the end of the 1980s, suggest that caries levels have now levelled out and may even have started to rise in younger children while in adolescents the rate of decline has slowed substantially. Possible explanations for these trends are discussed. The national data conceal wide disparities between different regions of the country and a notable worsening in the caries experience of children in lower socio-economic groups. In order to consolidate the gains of the last 20 years and safeguard the future dental health of both children and adults, implementing population preventive methods such as water fluoridation should be vigorously pursued.