Dental caries prevalence in the permanent teeth in Greek schoolchildren related to age, sex, urbanization and social status.

An epidemiological study of caries experience in permanent teeth of 1739 schoolchildren aged 6-17 years was conducted in Epirus, a northwestern region of Greece. Dental caries was found to be prevalent in the population examined and to increase with age. The mean DMFT values at the ages of 6, 12 and 17 years were 0.53 +/- 1.13, 4.93 +/- 4.04 and 8.88 +/- 6.19 respectively, while the average DMFT value for the total population examined was 4.96 +/- 4.83. The percentages of the children with caries-free permanent dentitions were 80 per cent at the age of 6 years, 24 per cent at 12 years and 7 per cent at 17 years. The total percentage of caries-free children was 20 per cent. Girls were found to have a higher caries prevalence than boys in all age groups. Small differences in the caries prevalence were found between rural and urban children population. Children of lower socioeconomic levels exhibited slightly higher caries prevalence than children of higher levels. The results of this baseline study indicate that dental caries is a major problem in this region of Greece and therefore an active and effective programme of dental care is necessary for the child population.

Potential benefits of toothpaste advertising on dental health.

This paper considers the effect of advertising on the sales of various brands of toothpaste. It has attempted to investigate the relationship between the level of sales of a brand and those of its competitors. Econometric estimations of the demand-function for toothpaste have been made and the authors have tried to determine the interrelationships between advertisement and toothpaste sales. The findings cast doubt upon the efficiency of the present system of competitive advertisement and suggest a possible alternative approach to the marketing of toothpaste which could increase sales and, at the same time, beneficially influence dental health.