title: Secular trends of caries prevalence in 6- and 12-year-old Dutch children.
abstract: Recently two papers have been published dealing with possible changes in the downward trend of caries experience among Dutch schoolchildren in the late 1980s. To answer the question if the decline of caries has come to an end, a meta-analysis was carried out on epidemiological data collected in 5-6 and 11-12-yr-old children between 1980 and 1990. From results of the present analysis it appears that after 1983 a halt in the decline of caries prevalence among 6-yr-olds occurred, whereas among 12-yr-olds, the earlier decrease in mean DMFS scores continued in the period 1980-89.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cariology and Endodontology, University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Truin
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van't Hof
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kalsbeek
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Frencken
authors.forename: K G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: König
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005457:Fluoridation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015588:Observer Variation; D015995:Prevalence; D011859:Radiography; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012923:Social Class