Trends in de prevalentie van cariës bij de 6- en 12-jarige jeugd in Nederland

In order to gain insight into the development of caries prevalence and
caries experience among Dutch youth, a meta-analysis was carried out on
epidemiological caries data collected in 5 and 6 and 11 and 12 year-olds
between 1980 and 2009. From the present analysis it appears that after the
mid-1980’s a halt occurred in the decline of caries experience in the primary
dentition among 5 and 6 year-olds. A t the same time, the percentage of
children with a caries-free primary dentition who were covered by public
health insurance or participated in institutions for youth dental care decreased.
Among 11 to 12 year-olds there is no indication that the prevalence of caries
in the permanent dentition has changed. Considering the high percentage of
12 year-olds with a caries-free permanent dentition, an additional impro-ve
ment in oral health for this age-group will be difficult to achieve. The average
restorative index of the primary dentition in 5-6 year-old children covered
by public health insurance and children in The Hague appears not to have
changed dramatically in the last 15 years.