[The feasibility of descriptive epidemiology in assessments of dental caries disease in children in Russia and Belarus].

Aim: this study aims to estimate significance of the descriptive dental epidemiology in evaluation of the long-term effect of the Community program for prevention of dental caries.

Methods: The descriptive dental epidemiology data of DMFT 12-year-old children in Belarus and Russia were analyzed since 1961 to 2014.

Results: Meta-analysis of publications indicated that prevalence of dental caries has dropped from average 3.7-3.8 DMFT at baseline to 2.2-2.6 DMFT after 20 years of the programs implementation in Belarus and Russia accordingly. However, during last 5-6 years a negative trend was assumed.

Conclusion: Based on long-term DMFT monitoring, the community programs in Belarus and Russia were effective in reducing dental caries by 30-40% for about 30-years period. However, the observed trend was not stable perhaps due to insufficient scientific support of programs.