Oral health of South African Black (Xhosa) mine recruits.

The oral health of 100 rural Black Xhosa men commencing employment on the gold mines was examined. Dental caries were present in 68%, the mean DMFT per mouth was 2.5 (s.d. 2.8) while the mean DMFT per carious mouth was 3.7 (s.d. 2.7). Oral hygiene was good and periodontal disease uncommon. Although the frequency of individuals with dental caries has increased since studies on similar groups were made 40 years ago, the severity of the disease in affected individuals has remained static.