This paper describes dental caries status (in the permanent dentition) recorded in a cohort of 430 Taranaki adolescents examined in 2003 at age 13, 255 (59.3%) of whom were re-examined at age 16. At follow-up, caries prevalence (1+ DMFS [decayed/missing/filled]) had increased from 68% at baseline to 79%, mean DMFS had increased from 2.9 to 3.6, and the prevalence of high caries experience (5+ DMFS) had increased from 20% to 41%. The 3-year mean net caries increment of 0.5 surfaces was dominated by occlusal surfaces and the overall incidence of caries was approximately 46%. Over one-third of the cohort (37%) presented with decayed surfaces at follow-up, and this was significantly higher among Māori and males.
