The contrast in dental caries experience amongst children in the north west of England.

Professor Philip Holloway has an outstanding reputation in dental science which has led him to be asked to give his advice on dental matters in many different parts of the world. When he came to Manchester in 1964 he came to join the Department of Children's and Preventive Dentistry and the dental welfare of the children in the north west of England has remained one of his abiding central interests. This paper examines the information that has become available on the dental caries experience among children in north west England since the 1960s when Philip Holloway joined the department. The paper collates data on the dramatic reduction in caries prevalence and examines the distribution of dental caries in children today. In the 1990s, typically, only one quarter of children account for three quarters of the dental caries that is present. In the future, efforts should be concentrated on identifying groups of children within the population at risk to dental caries rather than trying to identify individuals. A recent reduction in the provision of restorative treatment amongst 5-year-old children is noted in this region of England and proposals for further research are discussed.