Developmental defects of enamel in regularly attending adolescent dental patients in Scotland; prevalence and patient awareness.

Contemporary dental literature contains many reports of the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in a variety of populations. Little information is available relating to patients' perceptions of such defects. The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in a sample of regularly attending adolescent dental patients with the patients' own views as to whether they thought they had marks on their teeth. The index used for the assessment of defects, the SCOTS Version of the Modified DDE Index (SCOTS/DDE Index), includes both a dentist and patient assessment of defects. Four hundred and eighty-five adolescent dental patients of 41 general dental practitioners in Scotland were examined under standardised conditions in a mobile dental surgery by one trained and calibrated examiner. Approximately half the sample had some sort of developmental defect of enamel, as classified by the SCOTS/DDE Index. However, only 14 per cent of the sample claimed to be aware of marks on their front teeth which would not brush off.