title: Caries prevalence in 12-year-old schoolchildren in New Caledonia.
abstract: This study reports on the most recent epidemiological survey undertaken in New Caledonia, a French dependency in the South Pacific. Three hundred and twenty-five 12-year-old children were selected from schools using the World Health Organization pathfinder sampling methodology. The results showed a DMFT of 4.09. This places New Caledonia in the 'moderate' category on the World Health Organization scale of caries severity for 12-year-old children. Two oral health risk groups were identified: Melanesian and Wallisian children. Different approaches to promoting oral health in New Caledonia, taking into account local socio-cultural traditions, are proposed.
authors.affiliation: WHO Collaborating Centre for Research into Health Care Systems and Oral Health Sciences Education, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Lyon, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bourgeois
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doury
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008542:Melanesia / Q000208:ethnology; D009510:New Caledonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D009909:Oral Health; D011114:Polynesia / Q000208:ethnology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014944:World Health Organization