Dental caries experience and defects of dental enamel among 12-year-old children in north London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin.

A multi-center study of caries experience and defects of dental enamel was conducted among 12-yr-old children in north London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dublin. None of the cities had water fluoridation except Dublin, which was included in the national program introduced in the Republic of Ireland in 1964. A random sample of children was drawn from state schools in each location and identical methods of clinical examination were used throughout under the same standardized conditions. All examiners were trained and calibrated with a reference examiner and achieved high levels of inter- and intra-examiner consistency. Mean DMFT values for the 4 cities were 1.27 (London), 1.39 (Edinburgh), 2.70 (Glasgow) and 1.48 (Dublin) (P < 0.001). Proportions of subjects free from caries in the same order were, 50, 47, 24 and 43% (P < 0.001), and child prevalence of diffuse opacities, 28, 29, 7 and 17% (P < 0.001), respectively. The relatively low caries levels recorded in London and Edinburgh (lower than Dublin) were considered to be related most probably to fluoride effects other than water fluoridation.