Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Jul;104(7):e115-21.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301869. Epub 2014 May 15.

Age, period and cohort trends in caries of permanent teeth in four developed countries

Eduardo Bernabé  1 , Aubrey Sheiham
Affiliations

Age, period and cohort trends in caries of permanent teeth in four developed countries

Eduardo Bernabé et al. Am J Public Health. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: We assessed the relative influences of age, period, and cohort effects on trends in caries experience of permanent teeth in 4 different populations.

Methods: We used data from England and Wales, United States, Japan, and Sweden in which numerous cross-sectional, nationally representative surveys have been conducted periodically since the early 1960s. For each country, trends in caries experience (measured by DMFT index-the number of decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth) were analyzed in an age, period, and cohort (APC) analysis using partial least square regression.

Results: A strong effect of age manifested in caries experience, period and cohort effects aside. Caries levels increased through to adolescence; thereafter, there was a larger increase in DMFT in adulthood. Compared with the aging effect, period and cohort effects on caries experience were small. Population DMFT scores decreased over time in all countries except Japan. Cohort effects on caries experience displayed a nonlinear pattern in all 4 countries, with slightly lower caries levels among the oldest and most recent generations.

Conclusions: Despite marked recent declines in caries among children, caries levels increase with age and remain problematic in adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Trends in number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT index) by age and years in (a) England and Wales, (b) the United States, (c) Japan, and (d) Sweden: 1960s–present. Note. The DMFT index can vary between 0 and 32 teeth.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Predicted numbers of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT index) by ages, periods and cohorts in (a) England and Wales, (b) the United States, (c) Japan, and (d) Sweden: 1960s–present. Note. The DMFT index can vary between 0 and 32 teeth.
FIGURE 3—
FIGURE 3—
Predicted numbers of decayed (DT), missing (MT) and filled teeth (FT) by ages, periods, and cohorts in (a) England and Wales, (b) the United States, (c) Japan, and (d) Sweden: 1960s–present. Note. The DMFT index can vary between 0 and 32 teeth.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Adequate evidence to challenge the paradigm of dental caries prevention in early age?
    van Palenstein Helderman WH, Groeneveld A, van der Heijden GJ, van Loveren C, Holmgren CJ, Benzian H. van Palenstein Helderman WH, et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Apr;105(4):e5-6. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302601. Epub 2015 Feb 25. Am J Public Health. 2015. PMID: 25713944 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Bernabé and Sheiham respond.
    Bernabé E, Sheiham A. Bernabé E, et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Apr;105(4):e7. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302607. Epub 2015 Feb 25. Am J Public Health. 2015. PMID: 25713957 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Vos T, Flaxman AD, Naghavi M et al. Years lived with disability (YLDs) for 1160 sequelae of 289 diseases and injuries 1990–2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 [published correction appears in Lancet. 2013;381(9867):628] Lancet. 2012;380(9859):2163–2196. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Marcenes W, Kassebaum NJ, Bernabe E et al. Global burden of oral conditions in 1990-2010: a systematic analysis. J Dent Res. 2013;92(7):592–597. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Petersson GH, Bratthall D. The caries decline: a review of reviews. Eur J Oral Sci. 1996;4(pt 2):436–443. 104. - PubMed
    1. Broadbent JM, Thomson WM, Poulton R. Progression of dental caries and tooth loss between the third and fourth decades of life: a birth cohort study. Caries Res. 2006;40(6):459–465. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Broadbent JM, Thomson WM, Poulton R. Trajectory patterns of dental caries experience in the permanent dentition to the fourth decade of life. J Dent Res. 2008;87(1):69–72. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources