Methods: A total of 2,146 of randomly selected 4 to 19 yr old individuals from different educational institutions of rural and urban areas and young patients of a Health Center were examined for dental caries according to the WHO criteria using the dmft/DMFT-Index. D- and M-values were correlated to the curriculum content of the COHW training programme.
Results: The percentage of caries free individuals in the deciduous dentition was 55% and decreased in the permanent dentition from 83% of 6 yr olds to 6% of 19 yr olds. Mean dmft score was 3.5. The mean DMFT scores at age 6 and 12 were 0.3 and 2.3 and increased to 6.3 in the group of adolescents between 15 and 19 yrs of age. Therefore, the training time of COHW of totally 12 weeks was allocated equally to ART, emergency treatment and basic subjects. COHW performed at least as good as European trained dentists. The ratio of ART fillings to extractions was 1 : 2.6.
Conclusions: The moderate prevalence and individual polarization of dental caries indicate the need of early minimal invasive restorative treatment to avoid later extractions. The team work of COHW in mainly rural Health Centers is a major step towards nationwide oral health care, and to reduce the high extraction rate in the near future.