[Oral health and gender].

Recently performed epidemiological studies in the Netherlands did not show statistical significant differences between boys and girls or men and women with regard to the prevalence of caries, periodontal diseases and toothlessness. In adults it was found that the mean number of untreated caries lesions was smaller in women than in men, possibly as a result of the lower percentage of women not attending a dentist regularly. Furthermore, the prevalence of plaque and calculus was lower among women, probably as a result of better oral hygiene habits.