Trends in total caries experience: Permanent and primary teeth

Background. This article is the last in a series of three that focuses on recent changes in the caries status of children aged 18 years or younger in the United States. Methods. This study is based on analyses of data regarding total carious (treated and untreated) permanent and primary teeth among children 6 to 18 years old and children 2 to 10 years old from the first and third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, or NHANES I and NHANES III. The NHANES is periodically conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Results. The cumulative number of carious permanent teeth, both treated and untreated, among 6- to 18-year-olds decreased 57.2 percent, from 4.44, as measured in NHANES I, to 1.90, as measured in NHANES III. The cumulative number of carious primary teeth, both treated and untreated, among 2- to 10-year-olds decreased 39.7 percent, from 2.29, as measured in NHANES I, to 1.38, as measured in NHANES III. Conclusions. Since the 1970s, the cumulative number of carious permanent and primary teeth, both treated and untreated, has declined substantially among children in the United States. Practice Implications. Effective prevention has reduced caries in children. As a result, dental practice will be more focused on maintaining intact dentitions than on repairing teeth damaged by disease.