[Dental caries in Southern Morocco. The role of socio-economic, ecological, racial geographic and nutritional factors].

1,376 male inhabitants of 15 towns in Southern Marocco were studied. The caries incidence were found to be higher than expected in view of their stage of civilization and the remoteness of the area. Two factors were found to be the reason for the advanced caries incidence: the high sugar intake, mainly used to sweeten the often drunk tea, and the wide-spread date as the most important food. A negative correlation was found between fluoride content of the water and caries, but the negative influence of date consumption was stronger than the positive influence of fluoride.