Introduction:
The results of systematically conducted all-Polish epidemiological studies aimed at the evaluation of the state of oral health indicate that the intensity of dental caries among children and adolescents remains on a high level. During the period between the ages of 6 and 12 of life, there takes place a systematic replacement of deciduous teeth by permanent teeth. In the case of occurrence of active carious changes in the deciduous teeth, there is an elevated risk of the colonization of permanent teeth with pathogenic bacterial species. The objective of the study was the comparison of the state of oral health among 6- and 12-year-old children living in the Lublin Region with the state of oral health of their contemporaries from other regions of Poland.

Description of the state of knowledge.:
The data presented in the reports by the All-Polish Programme of Monitoring of Oral Health conducted during the period 2013–2015 show a high intensity of dental caries among 6- and 12-year-old children. On the all-Polish scale, only 14.4% of 6-year-olds were free from caries (dmft/DMFT=0). In the Lublin Region, 13.5% of 6-year-olds were free from dental caries. The value of the Significant Caries Index (SiC) describing the intensity of caries in the 1/3 of the population at the greatest risk of the disease was 10 scores, compared to the whole group in the study, whereas in the Lublin Region a similar value is assumed, i.e. 10.1 scores. In the whole population in the study, the percentage of 12-year-old children free from dental caries (DMFT=0) was 20.4%, while in the Lublin Region this percentage was even lower – only 16.2%. The value of the SiC index assessed in the population of 12-year-olds was 7.4 scores, on average. In the Lublin Region, the intensity of dental caries in the 1/3 of the population at greatest risk, was lower, and the SiC index assumed the value of 6 scores.

Summing up:
The state of oral health of 6- and 12-year-old children living in the Lublin Region does not differ considerably from the state of oral health of the total population of 6- and 12-year-olds. Analysis of epidemiological indicators for the discussed age groups indicates a high intensity of dental caries, and high dental treatment needs of the population discussed. Therefore, it seems necessary to intensify educational, prophylactic and treatment activities, not only in the Lublin Region, but also in the remaining parts of Poland.