Diagram of the iceberg metaphor for dental caries identifying the stages of caries scored at diff erent diagnostic thresholds
Adapted from Pitts, 200433 with permission of the author and publisher. The dmf (primary teeth) and DMF (permanent teeth) index is used to quantify caries
experience, which is the sum of decayed, missing, and fi lled teeth. The subscript relates to the diagnostic cut-off used. d1/D1 refers to enamel or dentine caries, whereas
d3/D3 refers to dentine caries onl