The dental health revolution: The dramatic improvement in dental health of school children in the northern metropolitan region of New South Wales.

There has been a dramatic improvement in the dental health of school children in the past 15 years. The proportion of children aged five to 12 years who have never experienced any dental decay increased nearly ten-fold from 3.8% in 1961 to over 35% in 1974. The proportion of children with active dental decay at routine school examinations has fallen from 92% to 22%. These improvements are probably due to improved oral hygiene and diet in combination with the usage of fluoride. Almost certainly, the availability of fluoride both in tablet form and delivered through town water supplies has been the predominant factor. These very large reductions in the incidence of dental decay amont children represent a modern triumph of preventive health care. Further improvements in dental health may be effected by the topical application of fluoride and reduced intake of refined sugar.