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Early-life respiratory tract infections (RTIs) and dental caries are among the most common infectious diseases worldwide. The relations between early RTIs and development of caries in permanent teeth have not been studied earlier. We assessed childhood RTIs as potential predictors of caries in young adulthood in a 20-year prospective population-based cohort study (The Espoo Cohort Study). Information on lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) that had required hospitalization was retrieved from the National Hospital Discharge Registry (n = 1623). Additional information on LRTIs and upper RTIs (URTIs) was assessed based on the questionnaire reports that covered the preceding 12 months. Caries was measured as the number of teeth with fillings (i.e. filled teeth, FT) reported in the 20-year follow-up questionnaire. The absolute and relative excess numbers of FT were estimated applying negative binomial regression. The mean number of FT in young adulthood was 1.4 greater among subjects who had experienced LRTIs requiring hospitalization before the age of 2 years (SD 4.8) compared to those without any such infections (SD 3.4), and the adjusted relative excess number of FT was 1.5 (95% CI 1.0–2.2). LRTIs up to 7 years were associated with an absolute increase of 0.9 in the mean FT number, the adjusted relative excess being 1.3 (1.0–1.8). Also the questionnaire-based LRTIs (adjusted relative excess 1.3; 95% CI 0.9–1.8) and URTIs (adjusted relative excess 1.4, 1.0–1.8) before the age of 2 years predicted higher occurrence of FT. Findings suggest that early RTIs have a role in the development of dental caries in permanent teeth.