Editing Tooth decay (section)

==Epidemiology==
[[File:Dental caries world map - DALY - WHO2004.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|alt=Color coded map displaying caries experience throughout the world.|[[Disability-adjusted life year]] for dental caries per 100,000&nbsp;inhabitants in 2004:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates_country/en/index.html |title=WHO Disease and injury country estimates |year=2009 |website=World Health Organization |access-date=Nov 11, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111101009/http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/estimates_country/en/index.html |archive-date=2009-11-11 }}</ref>
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
{{legend|#b3b3b3|No data}}
{{legend|#ffff65|<50}}
{{legend|#fff200|50–60}}
{{legend|#ffdc00|60–70}}
{{legend|#ffc600|70–80}}
{{legend|#ffb000|80–90}}
{{legend|#ff9a00|90–100}}
{{Col-break}}
{{legend|#ff8400|100–115}}
{{legend|#ff6e00|115–130}}
{{legend|#ff5800|130–138}}
{{legend|#ff4200|138–140}}
{{legend|#ff2c00|140–142}}
{{legend|#cb0000|>142}}
{{col-end}}]]
Worldwide, approximately 3.6&nbsp;billion people have dental caries in their permanent teeth.<ref name=WHO2016Epi/> In baby teeth it affects about 620&nbsp;million people or 9% of the population.<ref name=Lancet2012Epi/> The disease is most common in Latin American countries, countries in the Middle East, and South Asia, and least prevalent in China.<ref>[https://www.who.int/oral_health/media/en/orh_report03_en.pdf The World Oral Health Report 2003: Continuous improvement of oral health in the 21st century&nbsp;– the approach of the WHO Global Oral Health Programme] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927025557/http://www.who.int/oral_health/media/en/orh_report03_en.pdf |date=2006-09-27 }}, released by the [[World Health Organization]]. (File in pdf format.) Page accessed August 15, 2006.</ref> In the United States, dental caries is the most common [[chronic (medicine)|chronic]] childhood disease, being at least five times more common than [[asthma]].<ref>[http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/Volume2/21Oral.htm Healthy People: 2010] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060813100704/http://www.healthypeople.gov/Document/HTML/Volume2/21Oral.htm |date=2006-08-13 }}. Html version hosted on [http://www.healthypeople.gov Healthy People.gov] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310214546/https://www.healthypeople.gov/ |date=2017-03-10 }} website. Page accessed August 13, 2006.</ref> It is the primary pathological cause of tooth loss in children.<ref>[http://www.adha.org/faqs/index.html Frequently Asked Questions] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060816085021/http://www.adha.org/faqs/index.html |date=2006-08-16 }}, hosted on the American Dental Hygiene Association website. Page accessed August 15, 2006.</ref> Between 29% and 59% of adults over the age of 50 experience caries.<ref name="DCPP">"[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dcp2.section.5380 Dental caries] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207004534/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dcp2.section.5380 |date=2008-12-07 }}", from the Disease Control Priorities Project. Page accessed August 15, 2006.</ref>

Treating dental cavities costs 5–10% of health-care budgets in industrialized countries, and can easily exceed budgets in lower-income countries.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2024-07-14|title=Guideline: sugars intake for adults and children|url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028|website=www.who.int|archive-date=2023-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230621085659/https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241549028|url-status=live}}</ref>

The number of cases has decreased in some developed countries, and this decline is usually attributed to increasingly better oral hygiene practices and preventive measures such as fluoride treatment.<ref>[https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/oralhealth/en/index1.html World Health Organization] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060326010127/http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/oralhealth/en/index1.html |date=2006-03-26 }} website, "World Water Day 2001: Oral health", p. 2. Page accessed August 14, 2006.</ref> Nonetheless, countries that have experienced an overall decrease in cases of tooth decay continue to have a disparity in the distribution of the disease.<ref name="DCPP"/> Among children in the United States and Europe, twenty percent of the population endures sixty to eighty percent of cases of dental caries.<ref name="Tougersugars"/> A similarly skewed distribution of the disease is found throughout the world with some children having none or very few caries and others having a high number.<ref name="DCPP"/> [[Australia]], [[Nepal]], and [[Sweden]] (where children receive dental care paid for by the government) have a low incidence of cases of dental caries among children, whereas cases are more numerous in [[Costa Rica]] and [[Slovakia]].<ref>"[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dcp2.table.5381 Table 38.1. Mean DMFT and SiC Index of 12-Year-Olds for Some Countries, by Ascending Order of DMFT] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207004544/http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?rid=dcp2.table.5381 |date=2008-12-07 }}", from the Disease Control Priorities Project. Page accessed January 8, 2007.</ref>

The classic [[Decay-missing-filled index|DMF (decay/missing/filled) index]] is one of the most common methods for assessing caries prevalence as well as dental treatment needs among populations. This index is based on in-field clinical examination of individuals by using a probe, mirror and cotton rolls. Because the DMF index is done without X-ray imaging, it underestimates real caries prevalence and treatment needs.<ref name=HC/>

Bacteria typically associated with dental caries have been isolated from vaginal samples from females who have [[bacterial vaginosis]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Africa|first1=Charlene|last2=Nel|first2=Janske|last3=Stemmet|first3=Megan|title=Anaerobes and Bacterial Vaginosis in Pregnancy: Virulence Factors Contributing to Vaginal Colonisation|journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health|volume=11|issue=7|year=2014|pages=6979–7000|issn=1660-4601|doi=10.3390/ijerph110706979|pmid=25014248|pmc=4113856|doi-access=free}}</ref>