Caries Prevalence Among Polish 12-Year-Olds Between 1987-2003

Objectives: To determine trends in caries prevalence among 12-year-old Polish children, over a 16-year period of observation. Methods: The study covered 3338 children aged 12 years, from urban and rural localities, selected by stratified random sampling. The examination was carried out acc. WHO criteria (Oral Health Surveys, Basic Data). Results from examinations performed in 1987, 1995 and 2003 were analyzed and compared. Results: The study showed that over the 16 years the percentage of caries-free children rose from 10.1% in 1987 to 12.9% in 2003. It was also found that mean DMFT values fell from 4.4 (1987) to 4.3 (1995) and 3.9 (2003). This fall was most evident in rural localities. The number of teeth with untreated caries at these time points was 2.7, 2.7 and 2.0, respectively. The percentage of children with caries in more than 4 teeth changed from 56.2% (1987) to 61.4% (1995) and 52.0% in 2003. The treatment index in the population studied increased from 0.35 (1987) to 0.36 (1995) and 0.47 (2003). SiC Index was found to slightly increase from 7.0 in 2000 to 7.3 in 2003. Conclusion: The weak tendency for a reduction in caries frequency in the population of 12-year-old children over the 16-year period of observation suggests a need for the intensification of oral health education and promotion among Polish children.