[Will root caries become a treatment problem of the future?].

Based upon the present prevalence of root caries an attempt is taken to evaluate the future importance of this carious type. A population sample of 2,261 men and women aged 35 to 74 years were examined. The participation rate was 81%. Root caries was recorded when the lesion was obviously soft and located on cementum. The prevalence of root caries increased for both sexes almost consistently with age and ranged between 49 and 73%. In the mean 1.8 to 2.9 teeth were affected. Root caries was found more often among men than women. Over the sixth decades the reduction of the relative frequency of root caries was stated. Up to this age the rates of tooth extraction were higher than the rates of incidence. If it succeeded that in the future aged people will retain more teeth than nowadays a increase of root caries can be expected.