Dental caries in schoolchildren of an Estonian and a Danish municipality

Objectives . The objectives of the study were to describe the prevalence rate and the severity of dental caries in Estonian schoolchildren aged 7 and 12 and to compare the findings with those of Danish children.
Design . Cross-sectional surveys in Estonia and Denmark, clinical oral examinations of children in 1997.
Samples and methods . In Estonia, 195 children aged 7 and 215 children of age 12 were selected in the municipality of Tartu in schools identified for oral health promotion projects. In Denmark, the study included 637 7-year-olds and 642 12-year-olds living in the municipality of Horsens and served by the Public Dental Health Service for children. All children in the two countries were examined by calibrated dentists for dental caries according to the Recording System for the Danish Public Dental Health Service.
Results . At age 7, 83·8% of Estonian children had dental caries (7·7 dmfs) against 62·1% of Danish children (5·3 dmfs). At age 12, the mean caries experience was 2·1 DMFS in Estonia against 1·3 DMFS of the Danish children. Most of the caries indices were due to the high d/D components and approximal caries was prominent. In the study area in Estonia, the content of fluoride in drinking water was optimal (0·8–1·5 p.p.m.) whereas the level of fluoride was low in the Danish municipality (0·2 p.p.m.).
Conclusion . In the Baltic states, the oral health systems are in transition. For the continuous improvement of oral health in childrens' reorientation of services should consider implementation of community-based oral health promotion and the schools provide an excellent setting for preventive oral care.