In Norway all children 3 to 18 years of age are recalled regularly for free dental care. It is documented that a substantial percentage of the children do not attend scheduled dental appointments. Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the oral health and use of dental services of children that had and children that had not missed dental appointments during the last two years. Material and method: During a two week period detailed data based on anamnestic, clinical and radiographic examination was registered for all 576 children recalled for examination. It was registered from the dental records whether children had missed dental appointments during the two last years. Results: Fifteen percent of the children had at least one missed appointment during the last two years. Mean age and time since the previous examination were not significantly different between children with and without missed appointments. No significant differences were found between the two groups of children regarding demographic variables (gender, immigrant status, medical disease) or dental health behaviours. Children with a history of missed appointments had more enamel disturbances and higher DMFT and DT compared to the rest of the group (p< 0.05). Longer time was used to complete dental treatment of children with a history of missed appointments and they were given shorter dental recall interval to the next examination (p< 0.05). Amount of visible plaque and percentage of children with gingivitis were similar (ns) in children with and without a history of missing appointments. Conclusion: Children with a history of missed dental appointments had poorer dental health than the other children. They were also given more dental care and recalled more frequently than other children.