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doi: 10.17269/CJPH.106.4918 Dental caries (tooth decay) is the most common chronic disease in childhood--five times more common than asthma and seven times more common than hay fever. (1) The etiology [...], OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper was to describe results of a public health-administered, provincial dental survey of children aged 4-6 years old in British Columbia, and assess the changes in rates of dental caries geographically and by neighbourhood socio-economic status between baseline (2006/07) and follow-up data collection (2009/10). METHOD: The study design involved two retrospective cohorts of kindergarten children who received a public health-administered dental assessment in the years 2006/07 and 2009/10. Neighbourhood socio-economic status was measured by an index created from Canadian Census and Tax Filer data sets. The dental outcomes included previous decay experience, untreated visible decay, and urgent treatment needs. RESULTS: The analysis comprised dental outcomes for 35,602 kindergarten children in 2006/07 and 35,215 children in 2009/10. There was a modest decrease in dental decay rates between surveys, with rates of decay experience--previous and untreated--of 38.9% and 36.7% respectively. However, there were disparities, with almost 50% of children with dental decay in the most socio-economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, and approximately 30% with dental decay in the least disadvantaged areas. CONCLUSION: The kindergarten dental survey had extensive coverage, was at the population level, and enabled analysis of change in early childhood dental decay rates over time and by geography. Although overall rates improved, dental health inequalities persisted in both survey years at both regional and neighbourhood levels. KEY WORDS: Dental caries; oral health; child; trends; surveillance; British Columbia OBJECTIF: Decrire les resultats d'une enquete dentaire provinciale de sante publique menee aupres des enfants de 4 a 6 ans en Colombie-Britannique, et evaluer les changements dans les taux de carie dentaire sur le plan geographique et selon le statut socioeconomique du quartier entre la base de reference (2006-2007) et la collecte des donnees de suivi (2009-2010). METHOD: Le protocole d'etude comportait deux cohortes retrospectives d'enfants de la maternelle ayant recu un examen dentaire administre par la sante publique en 2006-2007 et en 2009-2010. Le statut socioeconomique du quartier a ete mesure selon un indice cree a partir du Recensement canadien et des jeux de donnees des declarants de l'impot. Les resultats dentaires etaient l'experience prealable des caries, les caries visibles non traitees et les besoins urgents de traitement. RESULTATS: L'analyse a porte sur les resultats dentaires de 35 602 enfants de la maternelle en 2006-2007 et de 35 215 enfants en 2009-2010. Il y a eu une baisse modeste des taux de carie dentaire entre les deux enquetes, avec des taux d'experience des caries--anterieures et non traitees--de 38,9 % et de 36,7 %, respectivement. Toutefois, il y a eu des disparites: pres de 50 % des enfants avaient des caries dentaires dans les quartiers les plus defavorises sur le plan socioeconomique, contre environ 30 % dans les quartiers les moins defavorises. CONCLUSION: L'enquete dentaire aupres des enfants de la maternelle avait une vaste couverture, elle a ete menee a l'echelle de la population, et elle a permis d'analyser les changements spatiotemporels dans les taux de carie dentaire des jeunes enfants. Bien que les taux globaux se soient ameliores, les inegalites sur le plan de la sante dentaire ont subsiste au cours des deux annees de l'enquete, tant a l'echelle regionale qu'a celle des quartiers. MOTS CLES: caries dentaires; sante buccodentaire; enfant; tendances; surveillance; Colombie-Britannique

In this study, heights, weights, and numbers of decayed, extracted, and filled (DEF) deciduous teeth of 300 first-graders from a less affluent area of Taipei were compared with those of 277 first-graders from a more affluent one. Parents of all children self-identified as having ancestors from Fujian. This study tested the hypothesis that synergisms between under-nutrition and disease form part of a causal pathway contributing to the risk of deciduous caries. Within the less affluent community significant inverse associations between height and body mass index, as proxies for nutritional status, and the frequency of DEF deciduous teeth were anticipated. These associations were not expected in the more affluent community where nutritional status was adequate. An alternative hypothesis, that parental behavior potentially correlated with parental education, occupational backgrounds, housing, or family size contributed independently to offspring nutritional status and caries risk, was evaluated with available data. Consistent with the primary hypothesis, regression analyses revealed significant negative slopes of height (P = 0.002) and log BMI (P = 0.036) on total DEF deciduous teeth in the less affluent group, but not in the more affluent one. Direct tests of slope coefficients in the two groups indicate a significant difference for height (P = 0.041) but not log BMI (P = 0.29). Inclusion of parental education, occupational categories, housing, and numbers of siblings in the regression model provided no support to the alternative hypothesis. Results suggest that improving nutritional status significantly lowers caries risk, though most variation is probably attributable to other factors. KEY WORDS anthropology; stature; growth; development; under-nutrition; physiological stressors; weaning

Objective: To map the geographic distribution of fluoride in water supplies and child dental caries in remote Indigenous communities of the Northern Territory (NT). To examine the association between fluoride levels, household and community factors, access to services and child dental caries in these communities and to model the impact on the caries experience of children of introducing water fluoridation. Methods: Fluoride testing was conducted in 80 locations across the NT in 2001. Measures of mean caries experience for six-year-olds and 12-year-olds and community and housing-related infrastructure were obtained from records of the NT School Dental Service. Associations between community fluoride levels, community level variables and childhood caries experience and potential impact of water fluoridation were assessed using linear regression modeling. Results: Mean caries experience for six- and 12-year-olds tended to be higher in northern and eastern areas of the NT, corresponding to the distribution of low levels of natural fluoride. Several-fold more children in remote NT communities are exposed to the risks of inadequate fluoride than are exposed to excessive fluoride. Mean reticulated fluoride level was the only variable significantly associated (p Conclusions and Implications: Introduction of fluoridation of water supplies into communities with inadequate natural fluoride is a vital measure for improving the dental health of children living in remote NT communities. Key words: fluoride, dental caries, Indigenous, prevention, remote. doi: 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2009.00376.x

A comparison of the oral health of patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with those without the condition reveals that people with ASD are 70.5 percent less likely to have a positive caries history than their counterpart. However, more patients with ASD are more uncooperative and require general anesthesia during dental treatment.

Objective: Health Card holders are a financially disadvantaged group and are the target population eligible for public-funded dental care. The aims of this study were to describe the oral health status of public-funded dental patients by age, sex, type of care and geographic location, and to compare trends over time. Methods: Patients were sampled randomly by State/Territory dental services in 1995/ 96 and 2001/02. Dentists recorded oral health status at the initial visit of a course of care using written instructions. The samples were weighted in proportion to the numbers of public-funded dental patients for each State/Territory. Results: Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that caries experience measured by the DMFT index increased across older age groups (p Conclusions: There was variation in oral health among public dental patients by sex, type of care and location, and there was a trend towards lower numbers of filled teeth but higher numbers of decayed teeth and higher overall caries experience over time. Implications: Despite population trends towards improved oral health, levels of untreated decayed teeth have increased among public dental patients.

Fewer adults had cavities in 1988-1994 compared with 1971-1974, according to researchers who examined data from the First and Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). There was a 27% drop in the number of cavities in people aged 18 to 45 during 1988-1994 compared to 1971-1974. NHANES I surveyed 28,000 people and NHANES III surveyed 39,695 people.

The need for dental care among the elderly will increase as more elderly people keep most of their teeth, according to a survey of 449 people 65 years old and older. Ninety-six percent had a history of tooth decay, one-fourth of which was recurring. Three-quarters had visited a dentist in the previous year.

Poor and minority children have substantially more dental decay than advantaged children. Using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) on the health of 10,332 children, researchers determined that 79% of teeth were decayed in the poorest children with some tooth decay, while 45% were decayed in children from households earning three or more times the federal poverty level of income. Untreated tooth decay was also more common in black and Mexican-American children than in white children and those from higher-income families.

Adults who are poor and live in rural areas are more likely to have root cavities than other adults. This was documented in the Florida Dental Care Study, which surveyed 873 adults 45 or older in four northern Florida counties, including the metropolitan area of Jacksonville. Over half the participants did not see a dentist on a regular basis. Twenty-eight percent had active cavities on the teeth roots, and 96% of the cavities were primary cavities. African Americans, men, rural residents and those living in poverty were more likely to have root cavities.

Cavity incidence in children appears to be continuing to fall, and the use of sealants appears to be rising. As part of a national health survey conducted from 1988 to 1991, 5,115 children ages 2 to 17 years were examined for cavities and the use of dental sealants. Over 60% of children under age 10 had no cavities in their baby teeth. Overall 55% of youths aged 5 to 17 had cavity-free permanent teeth, one-third of children aged 12 to 17 and three-quarters of children aged 5 to 11. Only 1.4% of children aged 2 to 11 had one or more sealed baby teeth, but 18.5% of children aged 5 to 17 had at least one sealed permanent tooth. In a 1971-1974 survey, only 26% of children aged 6 to 17 had cavity-free permanent teeth, and in a 1986-1987 survey, 7.6% of children aged 5 to 17 had at least one sealed baby or permanent tooth.

Nursing bottle caries, nursing caries, milk bottle syndrome, and baby bottle caries are all terms that have been used to identify a specific form of rampant caries in the primary […]

The widespread belief that dental caries (decay of the teeth) is no longer a health threat is simply erroneous. In spite of advances in caries prevention, more than 95 percent of adults continue to have caries. A survey from 1986 to 1987 showed that the average number of teeth decayed, missing, or filled (DMFs) in children between 5 and 17 years of age was 3.07. DMFs are more common in people of certain ages; for instance, 17-year-olds had an average of eight. More than half of all dental decay occurs in approximately 20 percent of the population. Overall, people aged 45 to 49 had the highest prevalence of DMFs (31). The Northwest and New England had the highest prevalence of caries at 25.2 and 25.4, respectively: the Southwest had the lowest at 17.4. Regional differences in caries of the root-surface are also presented. In general, the rates of tooth loss and untreated caries are low. Because people now live longer and keep their teeth longer than ever before, it is likely that caries will increase in prevalence in the coming years. Dental decay is becoming less frequent in young populations. Fluoridation of water and the use of fluoridated toothpaste have contributed to the overall improvement. Health aspects of these practices are reviewed. The decline in tooth decay rates may also be affected by the overall decline in diseases caused by streptococcal organisms, known to have taken place in recent decades. Increased consumption of soft drinks and ice cream, which has occurred in recent years, increases the exposure of the mouth to food preservatives that are also antibacterial agents. Research concerning caries should attempt to identify groups in the worldwide population that are at high risk. While young people have a lower caries incidence than ever, the rate among adults continues to rise. Dental decay continues to be an important public health problem. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Dental Decay Rates Among Children of Migrant Workers in Yakima, WA Synopsis The literature documents a significant decline in the prevalence of dental caries among children. Unfortunately, dental decay rates […]

This ecological study investigated the associations between social deprivation, income inequality and social cohesion and dental caries levels in school children of the Distrito Federal, Brazil. Three sources of data were used: (1) area-based data from a 1997 social survey carried out on 13,000 families, (2) 1995 census data collected for the Government of the Distrito Federal (GDF), and (3) dental caries data from a 1997 oral health survey on 7296 6-12-year-old school children. Results of simple linear regression showed that percent with less than eight years of education (P = 0.03) and percent who did not have a maid (P = 0.009), were negatively statistically significantly associated with the percent of children free of caries. None of the deprivation measures were statistically significantly associated with mean DMF-T scores (P [is greater than] 0.05). GINI coefficient, an indicator of social inequalities, was negatively statistically significantly associated with both measures of dental caries experience, percent of caries free (P = 0.003) and mean DMF-T scores (P = 0.01). Per thousand number of homicides or attempted homicides, an indicator of social cohesion was of marginal statistical significance associated with caries experience. Results of multiple linear regression analyses showed that only the Gini coefficient remained statistically significantly associated with both dental clinical measures used, after adjusting for potential confounding. In conclusion, relative rather than absolute levels of income were stronger determinants of the onset of caries in this study. Keywords: Social class; Social deprivation; Income inequality; Social cohesion; Dental caries; Brazil

The incidence of dental root caries differs spatially and temporally. Prehistoric people are reported to have suffered more dental root caries than modern people. However, the increasing number of elderly people in modern society has led to a rise of dental root caries incidence. This study reviews the incidence and nature of dental root caries in various populations, both from clinical data and from archaeological reports. Results show that specific behaviors and conditions lead to high dental root caries incidence, e.g. bad oral hygiene, narcotic addiction, frequent irradiation treatment among cancer patients, weighty soda consumption, and coca leaf chewing. Considerable differences in shape and location of dental root caries occur from different specific conditions and behavior. From this survey of dental root caries incidence in various populations, the author suggests the pathogenesis of dental root caries. This biocultural perspective on dental root caries sheds light on the relationship between cultural behavior and oral biology.

An anthropologist found that women experienced more frequent dental caries than men as societies transitioned from hunting and gathering to farming and more sedentary pursuits. This higher rate in dental caries in women is attributed to female sex hormones, lesser production of saliva by women, and food cravings, immune response, and aversions during pregnancy.

The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES, 1982 to 1984) determined the prevalence of dental caries, tooth loss and periodontal disease in 5,983 Mexican Americans, 2,226 Puerto Ricans, and 1,192 Cuban Americans, between 5 and 74 years of age. No significant differences in dental health were found among the three groups, when age, sex, income and education were taken into account. Dental carries (cavities) were more common in Puerto Rican children than in Mexican and Cuban American children. The results suggest that the use of sealants on the children's teeth may reduce the incidence of dental caries. Hispanic adults has twice the average number of cavities found in the children. Cuban American and Puerto Rican adults had 40 percent more fillings and twice as many missing teeth, compared with Mexican American adults. In addition, Puerto Ricans had the highest incidence of periodontal disease. The entire sample population of adult Hispanics had a higher prevalence of gingivitis (gum disease) than nonHispanic white adults. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)