The retention of natural teeth among the elderly is increasing and, in recent studies, dental caries has been identified as the main reason for teeth being extracted. The 5-year incidence of tooth loss and dental caries and the most crucial dental factors for tooth extraction were studied in a random sample of 60-, 70- and 80-year-old inhabitants of Gothenburg. Of the 208 persons examined at baseline, 148 (71%) participated in the follow-up examination: 69, 51 and 28 respectively in the different age groups. In all, 110 teeth had been extracted during the period in 40% of the participants. Only 9 persons had lost three or more teeth. The mean numbers of remaining teeth were 22. 18 and 15 respectively in the 60-, 70- and 80-year age groups and the mean numbers of teeth lost during the 5-year period increased with age from 0.4 in the 60-year-olds to 0.8 and 1.4 in the 70- and 80-year-olds (P