Dental visits, teeth remaining, and prosthetic appliances in a Norwegian urban population

Of a random sample (177 persons) of 35-year-old Oslo citizens, 117 subjects (66.1%) attended a dental examination. Questionnaires were returned by mail from 28 of the non-respondents. The most common reason for not attending was "difficulty in finding time for an appointment." About 89% of the respondents had visited a dentist regularly. Regular dental care seemed to be more common among people with a high level of education than among those with a low level of education. The most common treatment performed at the last dental visit was filling of cavities. The mean number of remaining teeth was 25.7. Females in the lower educational group had significantly less teeth than those in the higher educational group. No subjects were totally edentulous, but five persons had one edentulous jaw. Nine full or partial dentures were found. Twelve percent of the subjects had one or more fixed bridges, and 29.9% of the persons had one or more crown restorations. There seemed to be no differences between the sexes or educational levels in this respect.