Slade, G.Spencer, A.Davies, M.Burrow, D.2007-02-242007-02-241996Australian Dental Journal, 1996; 41(5):343-3500045-04211834-7819http://hdl.handle.net/2440/1447This report describes the intra-oral distribution of caries and frequency of reported toothache using data from 9690 South Australian children aged 5-15 years. School dental therapists and dentists recorded dmfs and DMFS data and a questionnaire to parents sought information about toothache and its impact. There were higher levels of caries experience in deciduous teeth (mean 6-year-old dmfs = 2.61) compared with permanent teeth (mean 12-year-old DMFS = 1.15). In the deciduous dentition: between 11.4 per cent (9-year-olds) and 37.7 per cent (5-year-olds) of total dmfs was present as untreated decay; between 39.1 per cent (7-year-olds) and 42.8 per cent (10-year-olds) occurred on interproximal surfaces; and between 2.0 per cent (10-year-olds) and 27.8 per cent (5-year-olds) occurred in anterior teeth. In the permanent dentition, the majority of permanent caries experience occurred as fillings in pits and fissures of first molars and involved a single surface. Between 11.8 per cent (5-year-olds) and 31.8 per cent (12-year-olds) of children had a reported history of toothache, although the figure exceeded 50 per cent among children with all three forms of pit/fissure, interproximal and smooth-surface caries experience. The observed pattern of caries provides the basis for continued use of fissure sealants as a preventive measure among school children.enToothMolarTooth, DeciduousHumansDental CariesDental FissuresToothachePit and Fissure SealantsDMF IndexQuestionnairesLongitudinal StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesChild BehaviorParentsSleepSchools, DentalAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolSouth AustraliaJournal article003000297410.1111/j.1834-7819.1996.tb03144.xA1996VN925000102-s2.0-003025529466980Spencer, A. [0000-0002-3462-7456]Davies, M. [0000-0002-5809-7541] [0000-0003-1526-0801]