Enamel decalcification in primary schoolchildren.

To serve as a baseline for a future study of enamel decalcification in relation to orthodontic treatment, the pre­ valence and severity of decalcification was determined in 204 schoolchildren who had not received orthodontic treat­ ment (mean age 12.3 years), and who lived in a Jluroide deficient area. The severity of decalcification indicated by a Decalcification Index (DI) was calculated using a scoring system applied to the cervical, middle and incisal thirds of the vestibular and lingua! surfaces of all the permanent teeth, excluding second and third molars. A total of 84 per cent of the children showed some decalcification, this occur­ red more frequently on the vestibular, compared to the lingual surface. The cervical third of the teeth was the most frequently affected third. A similar pattern was observedfor the Decalcification Index. The individual teeth most af­ fected were the permanent first molars. From this study it can be seen that decalcification was common in primary schoolchildren not undergoing orthodontic treatment, particularly in the cervical third of the permanent first molar teeth. OPSOMMING