title: [Secular trends of caries prevalence among 6 and 12 year-old youths in the Netherlands].
abstract: In order to gain insight into the development of caries prevalence and caries experience among Dutch youth, a meta-analysis was carried out on epidemiological caries data collected in 5 and 6 and 11 and 12 year-olds between 1980 and 2009. From the present analysis it appears that after the mid-1980's a halt occurred in the decline of caries experience in the primary dentition among 5 and 6 year-olds. At the same time, the percentage of children with a caries-free primary dentition who were covered by public health insurance or participated in institutions for youth dental care decreased. Among 11 to 12 year-olds there is no indication that the prevalence of caries in the permanent dentition has changed. Considering the high percentage of 12 year-olds with a caries-free permanent dentition, an additional improvement in oral health for this age-group will be difficult to achieve. The average restorative index of the primary dentition in 5-6 year-old children covered by public health insurance and children in The Hague appears not to have changed dramatically in the last 15 years.
authors.affiliation: Afdeling Preventieve en Curatieve Tandheelkunde van Universitair Medisch Centrum St Radboud te Nijmegen. g.truin@dent.umcn.nl
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Truin
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Schuller
authors.forename: J H G
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Poorterman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mulder
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000639:trends*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence