RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study aims to investigate the dental caries status of 12-year-old children (born in 1998) in Sichuan province in 2010 and 2011, monitor the tendency of dental caries, and update available information and scientific basis for oral health care program.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The oral health of 733 twelve-year-old children was surveyed for two consecutive years according to the methods proposed by the World Health Organization. The children were selected using multi-stage, stratified, randomized sampling. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Caries prevalence, DMFT, and DMFS in 12-year-old children were 34.8%, 0.93, and 1.09, respectively, and increased to 44.3%, 1.08, and 1.40 in the following year. The eruption of permanent teeth among females was higher than that of males (P < 0.05). The significant caries index was 2.54 in 2010 and 2.90 in 2011. F/D+F were 4.2% and 6.5% separately. Annual incidence of dental caries was 9.6%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Caries prevalence in the permanent teeth of 12-year-olds is high and worsens as the children age. Despite the high incidence of dental caries, the filling rate is low, hence the need for immediate preventive measures.</p>