THE INHIBITION OF APPROXIMAL CARIES IN ADULTS WITH LIFELONG FLUORIDE EXPOSURE

¹ National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency, Bethesda 14, Md.

1. Patterns of dental caries inhibition in approximal tooth-surface areas, following lifetime fluoride exposure, were studied in 183 natives of Colorado Springs, Colorado, aged 25 to 34 years, with 68 comparable natives of Boulder, Colorado, as a control.

2. No direct relationship could be found between the basic caries-susceptibility of an approximal area and the degree of caries inhibition in that area. Instead there was a systematic diminution of caries inhibition from the anterior toward the posterior part of the mouth. Mandibular approximal surfaces were slightly better protected than were maxillary approximal surfaces.