Trends in the global, regional, and national burden of oral conditions from 1990 to 2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Abstract

Background: The WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan has set an overarching global target of achieving a 10% reduction in the prevalence of oral conditions by 2030. Robust and up-to-date information on the global burden of oral conditions is paramount to monitor progress towards this target. The aim of this systematic data analysis was to produce global, WHO region, and country-level estimates of the prevalence of, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributed to, untreated caries, severe periodontitis, edentulism, other oral disorders, lip and oral cavity cancer, and orofacial clefts from 1990 to 2021.

Methods: This report is based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021. Input data were extracted from epidemiological surveys, population-based registries, and vital statistics. Data were modelled with DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, to ensure consistency between prevalence, incidence, remission, and mortality estimates for oral conditions. DALYs were estimated as the aggregation of the years of life lost (YLLs) due to premature mortality and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLDs were calculated by multiplying prevalence estimates, the severity of the oral condition's sequelae (disability weight) and duration of the sequelae. Although all oral conditions lead to YLDs, only lip and oral cavity cancer and orofacial clefts lead to YLLs as well. 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric with the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution.

Findings: The combined global age-standardised prevalence of the main oral conditions (untreated caries, severe periodontitis, edentulism, and other oral disorders) was 45 900 (95% UI 42 300 to 49 800) per 100 000 population in 2021, with 3·69 billion (3·40 to 4·00) people affected globally. Untreated dental caries of permanent teeth and severe periodontitis were the most common oral conditions, with a global age-standardised prevalence of 27 500 (24 000 to 32 000) per 100 000 population and 12 500 (10 500 to 14 500) per 100 000 population, respectively. Edentulism, severe periodontitis, and lip and oral cavity cancer caused the highest burden as demonstrated by their counts of DALYs and age-standardised DALY rates. Existing trends for 1990-2021 reveal relatively small changes (upward or downward) in prevalence and burden. Increasing counts of prevalent cases and DALYs were noted for all oral conditions but untreated caries of deciduous teeth (no percentage change in prevalence or DALYs) and orofacial clefts (-68·3% [-79·3 to -46·5] decrease in DALYs). There were decreases in both age-standardised prevalence and DALY rate for untreated caries of permanent teeth and edentulism, no change in both for untreated caries of deciduous teeth and severe periodontitis, an increase in the prevalence but no change in the DALY rate for lip and oral cavity cancer, and no change in the prevalence but a decrease in the DALY rate for orofacial clefts. By WHO region, the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions showed the largest increases in prevalent cases and DALYs for most oral conditions, while the European region showed the smallest increases or no change. The European region was the only region with decreasing age-standardised prevalence of untreated caries in both deciduous (-9·88%; -12·6 to -6·71) and permanent teeth (-5·94% (-8·38 to -3·62). The prevalence and DALY rate of severe periodontitis decreased in the African region, while the prevalence and DALY rate of edentulism decreased in the African region, South-East Asia region, and Western Pacific region. Furthermore, DALY rates of lip and oral cavity cancer decreased in the European region and the region of the Americas, while DALY rates of orofacial clefts decreased in all regions.

Interpretation: The minor changes in the burden of oral conditions over the past 30 years demonstrate that past and current efforts to control oral conditions have not been successful and that different approaches are needed. Many countries now face the double challenge of controlling the occurrence of new cases of oral conditions and addressing the huge unmet need for oral health care.

Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.