There have been significant achievements in prevention but many challenges to the dental profession still remain. Over the past decade dental caries experience has declined in many developed countries although some still report quite high rates. In developing countries the opposite is true and the widely reported increases in caries rates demand urgent action. Despite evidence of improving oral hygiene little clinically significant prevention of periodontal disease has been achieved in children or adults from both developed and developing countries. Oral cancer rates, though different in males and females, have remained fairly static for several decades. Because suitable indices of malocclusion have not been used over sufficient time it is impossible to identify trends in the prevalence and severity of occlusal disharmonies but more treatment seems to have been on offer in recent years. Sports injuries have been much reduced by the wearing of appropriate protective gear and intra-oral appliances.
