Decline in caries prevalence in6–14‐year‐old schoolchildren during1975–85 in Shizuoka, Japan

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine changes in caries prevalence during 1975 85 in Japanese schoolchildren who did not have an apparent change in fluoride exposure. A total of 2872 schoolchildren aged 6 14 yr in two primary schools and one junior high school in Shi/uoka city, Japan, were examined in 1985. The caries prevalence in 1985 was then compared with data which had been collected in a longitudinal survey on schoolchildren in the same primary and junior high schools by Katayama in 1970 75. The results indicated that DM FT and DMFS indices in 1985 were significantly lower than those in 1970 75 in all the examined ages (P <0.01). The DM FT indices at age 12 were 3.60 in 1985 and 5.47 in 1970 75. Remarkable decreases in DM FT al age 12 were observed in maxillary incisors (50%), followed by maxillary molars (24%) and mandibular molars (22%), The decline in caries prevalence in the examined area may be mainly attributed to several factors other than use of fluoride, such as changes in dietary pattern, an increasing dental awareness and promotion of dental health care. But the percentage decrease per annum of DM FT index at age of 12 in the examined population was relatively low (–4.1%) in comparison with other industrial countries. Comparing the results with data from national denial surveys, it can be considered that rural areas in Japan do not exhibit a similar decline of caries prevalence as in Shizuoka city, but there will be a lot of districts exhibiting significant reduction in caries prevalence in the near future.

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