IS CARIES PREVALENCE UNDERESTIMATED IN TODAYS CARIES EXAMINATION - A STUDY ON 16-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN IN THE COUNTY OF BOHUSLAN, SWEDEN

When caries prevalence was higher than today incipient lesions constit uted 70 % of carious lesions. Incipient lesions were often neglected i n caries recordings and hence the true caries prevalence was underesti mated. Moreover, it has been shown that there were evident differences in caries status between different areas in the same county though th e preventive measures were supposed to be the same (Moberg Skold et al 1984). To find out if the conditions were the same when caries preval ence has decreased a total number of 240 16-year-old children were exa mined concerning caries in 1987 and 1990. The results showed that the caries prevalence was still underestimated. Incipient lesions constitu ted 80 % of the total number of carious lesions which was approximatel y the same as when caries prevalence was higher. The differences in ca ries status within the county had decreased compared with the study in 1984 (Moberg Skold et al 1984).