Anticipated changes in caries prevalence in South Africa

We in South Africa are fortunate that, over the past 70 years, several pioneers of the dental profession have re­ corded their observations on the dental health of var­ ious groups. Friel (1910) appears to be the first to have published such a record. Writing in the British Dental Journal he described his findings on the “Teeth of Afri­ can Natives in Johannesburg” . Friel took advantage, as he put it, of the unique opportunity offered in Johannesburg through the congregation there of a large number of natives from different parts of South Africa. He believed that these people had largely adopted the food and manner of life of Europeans. On examining their teeth, initially with mirror and probe, and later, after they had objected to Friel putting something in their mouths to make their teeth bad, with mirror only, he found that 66,3 per cent of adults had dental caries. In males the prevalence was 53,8 per cent and in fe­ males it was 78,7 per cent. In children 2 to 15 years old 49,4 per cent had caries. Friel believed that this high prevalence was due to eating the food of white people, to drinking hot tea and coffee, or to both causes, and that heredity did not enter into the matter.