James P. Carlos

Recent Trends in Dental Caries in U.S. Children and the Effect of Water Fluoridation

The decline in dental caries in U.S. schoolchildren, first observed nationwide in 1979–1980, was confirmed further by a second national epidemiological survey completed in 1987. Mean DMFS scores in persons aged 5–17 years had decreased about 36% during the interval, and, in 1987, approximately 50% of children were caries-free in the permanent dentition. Children who had always been exposed to community water fluoridation had mean DMFS scores about 18% lower than those who had never lived in fluoridated communities. When some of the “background” effect of topical fluoride was controlled, this difference increased to 25%. The results suggest that water fluoridation has played a dominant role in the decline in caries and must continue to be a major prevention methodology.

Methodological and nutritional issues in assessing the oral health of aged subjects

Despite several serious methodological difficulties in epidemiological research on the oral health of elderly subjects, sufficient data are available to conclude that the prevalence of dental diseases is high in persons aged greater than 65 y in the US. An estimated 41% are completely edentulous, and dental caries, including root-surface caries, and destructive periodontal disease are widespread. Whether nutrition is related to the oral health problems of older persons is unclear: this question has received little research attention, and the results have generally been equivocal. There is some evidence that loss of teeth may be associated with suboptimal intake of nutrients and with changes in food preference.

Welcome and Introduction

I welcome you to the twenty-eighth Henry T. King, Jr. Annual Conference on Canada-United States relations. For those of you who are first-timers, the bell is a tradition that dates back to the first conference, 2 and you will be hearing it throughout this weekends proceedings. I have already broken one of Henrys long-standing rules. We are running a bit behind this morning but our panels are built with a little bit of squish time. I do want to point out a few nuts and bolts issues for everyone. Things are a little bit different this year, particularly for those of you that have come here over several years-many, many years in some cases. The first is to please be sure that you wear your nametag throughout the proceedings. (stating that the bell has been a part of the conference for the past twenty-three years).