Permanent dentition caries through the first half of life

• Published in: British dental journal Vol. 215; no. 7; p. E12
• Main Authors: Broadbent, J. M., Page, L. A. Foster, Thomson, W. M., Poulton, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.10.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/699; 692/700; Adolescent; Adult; Adults; Age; Child; Child development; Child, Preschool; Cohort analysis; Dental caries; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dentistry; Disease; Female; Humans; Longitudinal studies; Male; Medicine; New Zealand - epidemiology; Older people; Prevalence; Prospective Studies; Root Caries - epidemiology; Teeth; New Zealand
• ISSN: 0007-0610; 1476-5373
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.bdj.2013.991

Key Points Few studies have tracked the oral health of a cohort over time, and none for as long as the Dunedin study or with such a high long-term participation rate in a representative birth cohort. Shows how dental caries begins as a childhood disease, but remains important through adolescence and into adulthood. Provides hard data to demonstrate the differential susceptibility of the various teeth within the mouth with age. Aim To describe the occurrence of dental caries at the person, tooth and tooth surface level from childhood to early mid-life. Background No studies have reported on age and caries experience in a population-based sample through the first half of life. Methods Prospective cohort study of a complete birth cohort (n = 1,037) born in 1972/73 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Dental examinations were conducted at ages 5, 9, 15, 18, 26, 32 and 38, and participation rates remained high. Surface-level caries data were collected at each age (WHO basic methods). Statistical analyses and graphing of data were undertaken using Intercooled Stata Version 10. Results Data are presented on dental caries experience in the permanent dentition at ages 9, 15, 18, 26, 32 and 38. Percentile curves are charted and reported for person-level caries experience. Data are also presented on the number of decayed teeth and tooth surfaces, (including root surfaces at age 38), as a function of the number of teeth and surfaces present, respectively. Across the cohort, the number of tooth surfaces affected by dental caries increased by approximately 0.8 surfaces per year (on average), while the percentage of at-risk tooth surfaces affected by caries increased by approximately 0.5% per year, with negligible variation in that rate throughout the observation period. Conclusion These unique data show clearly that dental caries continues as a disease of adulthood, remaining important beyond childhood and adolescence and that rates of dental caries over time remain relatively constant.