Dental caries and dental treatment in the primary dentition in an industrialized South African community.

This paper reports an examination of dental caries in the primary dentition of 2-5-yr-old white children in an industrialized South African city, in 1981 and 1983. There was a decrease in dental caries prevalence over the 2-yr period accompanied by an increase in dental treatment in 3-5-yr-olds. Treatment, however, remains low. Socioeconomic status had a varying effect on the trends, but in general there was a greater reduction in dental caries in the lower socioeconomic areas.