The Role of Fluoride In Caries Prevention

By Denise M. Claiborne, PhD, RDH

Dental caries remains a public health concern. In the United States, it is the most common chronic disease of childhood.¹ Globally, untreated caries in primary teeth is the 10th most common chronic condition in children, impacting 621 million individuals.² Data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2012 revealed that 23% of children between the ages of 2 and 5 and 56% of children between the ages of 6 and 8 experienced dental caries in a primary tooth.³ Among permanent dentition, 21% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 experienced dental caries.³ Of those children, 6% had untreated dental caries.³ The data also revealed that race and ethnicity play a role in dental caries prevalence among children between the ages of 2 and 8. For example, Hispanic (46%), and non-Hispanic black children (44%) had more reported dental caries than non-Hispanic white children (31%).³

* References can be found in the original article via the link below.
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