Caries prevalence in 12-year-old children in Ljubljana in 1970 and 1985.

In Yugoslavia accurate data on the caries trend have not been available so far. In the present study, we have compared the caries status of 12-yr-old children in the years 1970 and 1985. Dental examinations in both surveys were carried out by the same examiner. Each survey included about 150 children of similar socioeconomic background, attending the same three schools in Ljubljana. The average number of DMFT per child decreased from 8.15 in 1970 to 5.03 in 1985 (38.3%), and the average number of DMFS decreased from 17.25 in 1970 to 7.80 in 1985 (54.8%). The number of carious surfaces per tooth dropped from 2.12 in 1970 to 1.55 in 1985. The greatest decline occurred on the approximal surfaces (78.3%), whereas the involvement of occlusal, lingual, and buccal surfaces decreased by about 40%.