Global Trends in Incidence and Prevalence of Dental Caries: A Review

Abstract

Dental caries is ubiquitous in modern man; however, the caries experience varies greatly among countries and even within countries. Overall, this review shows that, globally, the EMEcountries, China, India, and Pakistan have the lowest levelsof caries, with DMFT scores in 12-year-olds around 1.0. Cariesprevalence figures show a skewed distribution, with a largeproportion of this age group being caries-free. Countries withpreviously high caries levels such as the Formerly SocialEconomies of Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America,and Mexico—are reporting a decline in caries levels. Incountries with low to moderate levels of caries, such as NorthAfrica and the Middle East, there appears to be little changein caries levels over the past 20 years when the regions areviewed as a whole.

Keywords: Dental, caries, prevalence, incidence, trends