A review of the dental caries status of ethnic minority children in China

Abstract

China has 55 ethnic minority groups comprised of 113 million persons, or 7.0% of total population. Dental caries is a major health problem for children in China, and national oral health surveys currently report dental caries based on geographical location rather than by ethnic group. This study reviews the literature on dental caries in ethnic minority children in China. Publications were retrieved in Chinese and English from five electronic databases; thirty-eight studies from 1983 to 2012 met inclusion criteria and described 25 ethnic minority groups. Primary dentition median caries prevalence and experience were higher (51% and dmft = 3.0, respectively) than permanent dentition caries prevalence and experience (39% and DMFT = 0.8). Median caries prevalence was highest (80%) for permanent dentition among aggregated ethnic minorities with population greater than 1 million. More work and research is needed to expand dental caries prevention and treatment measures for ethnic minority child populations in China.