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A longitudinal study of the frequency of dental visits has been conducted on a sample of 1302 individuals aged 20-60 years. These individuals had previously been interviewed regarding their dental care habits. They had also (subsequent to the interview) been clinically examined by a dentist. The results presented are based on the official dental care consumption statistics in Sweden, and thus differ from the information obtained from the interviews. In all age groups, women had a higher frequency of dental visits than men. The average number of courses of treatment carried out over a 4-year period was 2.0. Only 23% of the individuals received treatment once a year or more often, whereas 79% received treatment at least once during a period of 4 years. These figures were lower than those reported in the interviews. Individuals with a higher number of courses of treatment had also had a higher frequency of dental visits before, had been called in by their dentist for check-ups, had a higher income and knew more about teeth and their care, used oral hygiene aids daily and were living in metropolitan areas. Younger people with many remaining teeth and those with many decayed teeth had a higher frequency of courses of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]