National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference statement. Diagnosis and management of dental caries throughout life, March 26-28, 2001.

OBJECTIVE: To provide health care providers, patients and the general public with a responsible assessment of currently available data regarding the diagnosis and management of dental caries throughout life. PARTICIPANTS: A nonfederal, nonadvocate, 13-member panel representing the fields of dentistry, epidemiology, genetics, medicine, oral biology, oral radiology, pathology, periodontics, public health, statistics and surgery, as well as a public representative. In addition, 31 experts in these same fields presented data to the panel and to a conference audience of approximately 700. EVIDENCE: Presentations by experts; a systematic review of the dental research literature provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and an extensive bibliography of dental caries research articles, prepared by the National Library of Medicine. Scientific evidence was given precedence over clinical anecdotal experience. CONSENSUS PROCESS: Answering predefined questions, the panel drafted a statement based on the scientific evidence presented in open forum and the scientific literature. The draft statement was read in its entirety on the final day of the conference and circulated to the experts and the audience for comment. The panel then met in executive session to consider these comments and released a revised statement at the end of the conference. The statement was made available on the World Wide Web at "consensus.nih.gov" immediately after the conference. This statement is an independent report of the panel and is not a policy statement of the National Institutes of Health or the federal government.