The changes in dental caries experience of 12-year-old schoolchildren in two Somerset schools. A review after an interval of 25 years.

The examination of 12-year-old children attending schools in central Somerset, where similar examinations were conducted 6, 19 and 25 years previously, has indicated that the caries experience of the children in these schools is continuing to decrease, and at a faster annual rate than previously. The average DMFT was 1.05; it was 5.36, 3.44 and 2.77 25, 19 and 6 years previously. The major reduction over the last 6 years is in the average number of filled teeth per child. The treatment philosophy of the practitioners caring for the children has changed and now appears to be appropriate to the treatment need.