title: Trends in dental health of 35- to 44-year-olds in West and East Germany after reunification.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The German reunification (1990) resulted in huge social upheavals in East Germany involving changes in health-care systems. We aimed to assess the changes of dental health between 1989 and 2005, hypothesizing that dental health converged in West and East Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated data from 855 East and 1,456 West Germans aged 35-44 years from the cross-sectional German Oral Health Studies (Deutsche Mundgesundheitsstudien) conducted in 1989/92, 1997, and 2005. Regression models were applied to assess associations between region, survey year, their interactions and variables assessing dental disease status [number of decayed (DT), missing (MT), and filled teeth (FT), the DMFT-index, the probability of having ≤ 20 teeth and the number of sound teeth (ST)], adjusting for potential risk factors for caries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After a slight increase of MT between 1989/92 and 1997 (West: 3.6 to 3.6; East: 4.5 to 4.9), numbers of MT considerably decreased between 1997 and 2005 (West: 3.6 to 2.2; East: 4.9 to 3.1). East Germans had consistently more MT. Numbers of FT, DT, ST, and the DMFT-index equalized at the latest in 2005. The East German DMFT-index increased between 1989/92 and 1997 and slightly decreased between 1997 and 2005, whereas the West German DMFT-index steadily decreased between 1989/92 and 2005.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dental health converged in West and East Germany, but the higher number of MT in 2005 indicates that East Germany was not able to catch up completely with West Germany.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Periodontology, University Medicine, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany. svenja.schuetzhold@uni-greifswald.de
authors.forename: Svenja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schützhold
authors.forename: Birte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holtfreter
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kocher
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Micheelis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000639:trends; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D005859:Germany, East / Q000453:epidemiology; D005860:Germany, West / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D009909:Oral Health / Q000639:trends*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology