illustrates the levels (severity) of dental caries as measured in 12-year-olds by the Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth index (DMFT). Dental caries experience in children is relatively high in the Americas (DMFT = 3.0) and in the European Region (DMFT = 2.6) whereas the index is lower in most African countries (DMFT = 1.7) (1–3).