Trends in the prevalence of dental caries in the US pediatric population 2011-2020.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to provide statistics on the trends and changes in the distribution of dental caries in the United States (US) pediatric population for the 10-year period 2011 through 2020. Using data from the 2011 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, estimates were derived for the prevalence of decayed and filled teeth in the US population aged between 2 to 11 years. Analyses were stratified by primary and permanent dentition, and prevalence was assessed amongst the various sociodemographic and body mass index (BMI) subgroups. Over the 10-year period, the following changes were observed: the prevalence of decayed primary teeth has decreased from 14.1% to 12.2%, the prevalence of filled primary teeth has decreased from 29.8% to 26.1%, the prevalence of decayed permanent teeth has decreased from 5.2% to 2.7%, and the prevalence of filled permanent teeth has decreased from 16.1% to 12.3%. Despite these decreases in prevalence, there remains substantial inequality in how the disease is distributed, with those from ethnic minorities, poorer households, and with a non-normal BMI carrying the majority of disease burden. The prevalence of dental caries has decreased over the past 10 years, but there is still inequality in disease distribution.