Impact of diagnostic criteria on the prevalence of dental caries in Norwegian children aged 5, 12 and 18 years.

The study aimed to investigate caries prevalence in children using a severity grading diagnostic system, and to evaluate the influence of different diagnostic thresholds on the caries data. A group of 513 children, aged 5, 12 and 18 years, were examined clinically, and with available bitewing radiographs, by four calibrated examiners. The inter- and intra-examiner reliability, assessed by a weighted kappa, varied between 0.80 and 0.95. The mean dmft/DMFT values were 3.8, 5.8 and 11.0 for the three age groups respectively, and the corresponding dmfs/DMFS values were 5.4, 9.9 and 22.6. The d/D-component constituted the major part of the dmf/DMF index in all age groups, and enamel lesions accounted for 59%, 89% and 86% of the d/D-component in the three age groups respectively. It is concluded that enamel or initial caries lesions contributed substantially to the total caries prevalence, illustrating the importance of using diagnostic criteria that include all stages of clinical caries if a total picture of the caries situation is needed.