abstract–This paper is based upon the mean annual amounts of fillings (filled surfaces) and the DMFS among 6/7‐ to 15/16‐year‐old children. Each age group comprised about 450 children. Cross‐sectional recordings were available prior to the start of a caries‐preventive program based on 2‐weekly fluoride rinses. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal DMFS recordings were different during the 10 years of observation. This indicates benefits exceeding the present 70% reduction in need for fillings and 50% improved caries prevalence. The ratio fillings needed for giving the DMFS score among 13‐ to 14‐year‐old children was found to improve from 1.60 to 1.16. Based on the cumulative amounts of fillings and the ratio of fillings DMFS, a DMFS of 15 may be expected in 4 years among children 15–16 years old. This caries prevalence is not markedly different from DMFS recordings among Scandinavian children l