title: The decline in dental caries among children of different ages in Korea, 2000-2006.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of dental caries in Korean children with time after the introduction of the nationwide public oral health programme.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross sectional oral health surveys of children aged from 6-16 years carried out in 2000 and 2006.
  
  
  METHODS
  After stratified cluster sampling, 11,947 (2000) and 9,740 (2006) children aged 6-16 years of age were examined at school.
  
  
  METHODS
  DMFT and fissure sealants were recorded according to the WHO criteria. The significant Caries Index (SiC index) was calculated.
  
  
  METHODS
  DMFT, SiC index, and the prevalence of fissure sealants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean DMFT scores for the 12-year-old Koreans decreased from 2.86 in 2000 to 2.16 in 2006. The prevalence of caries free permanent dentition also increased in the same period. The average SiC index from 6-16 years also decreased. There was a 20% prevalence of subjects with fissure sealants in 9-11-year-old children in 2000. The corresponding figures increased to 40% in 2006.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The oral health of Korean children improved considerably between 2000 and 2006 through improvement in lifestyle and the strong public oral health programme, which should be continued in order to improve oral health in Korea
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Public Health Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Hun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Jin-Bom
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Deok-Young
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009909:Oral Health; D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D010895:Pit and Fissure Sealants