The examination of 12-year-old children attending schools in central Somerset, where similar examinations were conducted 5, 11, 15 and 30 years previously, has indicated that the caries experience of the children in these schools is continuing to decrease. However, the annual rate of change over the past 5 years is less than that of the previous 6-year period. The average DMFT, which was 5.36, 3.44, 2.77 and 1.05 30, 15, 11 and 5 years previously, is now 0.63. The major reduction between 1982 and 1988 was in the average number of filled teeth per child and this trend has continued. Although the proportion of children who are free from any experience of caries has continued to rise to 72%, the number with active caries has remained at 6% over the last 5-year period.