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Trends in untreated caries in permanent teeth of children 6 to 18 years old
1American Dental Association, Health Policy Resources Center, Chicago, Ill. 60611, USA.
Background:
This article is the first in a series of three that focus on recent changes in the caries status of children and adolescents in the United States.
Methods:
This study is based on analyses of data regarding untreated carious permanent teeth among children 6 to 18 years of age 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:
Overall, the number of carious permanent teeth among children 6 to 18 years old decreased from 1.43, as measured in NHANES I, to 0.33, as measured in NHANES III. The number of carious permanent teeth in children 6 to 18 years old also decreased across four demographic variables: age, sex, race and poverty level.
Conclusions:
The number of untreated carious permanent teeth among children has declined dramatically. Since the 1970s, the absolute difference in untreated caries between disadvantaged children and the rest of the child population has narrowed substantially.
Practice Implications:
The reduction in untreated caries, the major oral disease among children, has been dramatic in all subgroups of children. This may reinforce the already apparent shift from restorative to preventive dental services.
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