Monitoring of oral health development, use of dental services, and subjective measures of satisfaction in the adult population are necessary elements to assess whether earlier defined oral health care goals have been fulfilled. Objectives: To assess period and cohort trends in edentulousness and dental care utilization in Danes aged 45 years and above, and to analyze relationships between edentulousness, dental care, and selected socio-demographic factors. Methods: In each of the years 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, and 1995, sequential cross-sectional national probability samples of the adult population (>15yrs-old, n total=5,500, of whom 45% were aged 45 years and above) were interviewed by a professional polling organization using a core of identical questions, among others relating to number of teeth, denture wearing, utilization of dental services during the preceding five years, and self-assessments of their oral health situation. Standard socio-demographic variables were also collected. Data from a separate study carried out in 2000 with comparable methodology yielding data from 3,700 respondents (53% 45yrs+) (Petersen et al. 2003) was also included. SPSS was used for analysis. Results: With descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis the age-, period-, and quasi cohort trends in edentulousness and dental care were assessed including the effect on these variables of socio-demographic and self-assessment measures. Overall, edentulousness decreased in the population from 24% in 1975 to 8% in 2000. The proportion seeking dental care on an annual basis increased from 58% to 80%. The most dramatic changes in all trends were seen in the older age groups with the generation effect significantly overriding other effects of gender, self-assessment, and occupation. Predictions are calculated on the future development. Conclusions: Although traditional socio-cultural disparities still exist, immense gains have been made in terms of number of teeth and dental care access in successive adult generations in Denmark.

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