Sociodemographic distribution of pediatric dental caries: NHANES III, 1988-1994

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.