A longitudinal study of occlusal caries among schoolchildren in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Objectives: To describe the clinical caries status and the radiographic progression of occlusal caries lesions in permanent first and second molars among primary schoolchildren in Dar es Salaam over a 3-year period.

Methods: Clinical and radiographic diagnosis of caries in first and second permanent molars in 223 children aged 8-16 years were carried out annually from 1994 to 1997. The drop-out rates from the baseline in 1994 to the follow-up examinations in 1995, 1996 and 1997 were 16.