Study: Hispanic Kids Have Twice as Many Untreated Cavities as White Kids

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Hispanic children have twice as many untreated cavities in their permanent teeth than white children, according to a new study.

The study, which examined 3,300 kids and was led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has good news overall: the number of kids who had cavities in their permanent teeth dropped from 75% 50 years ago to 25% today.

But racial/ethnic disparities persist.

Hispanic kids ages 2-8 had higher rates of cavities (46%) than black, (44%), white (31%) and Asian (36%) children.

Hispanic kids also had the highest cavity rates in the 6-11 and 12-19 age groups.

Prevention is key to reducing these rates, expert say.

That means educating parents and communities on how cavities occur in children, urging parents to get their kids at least one preventive dental visit a year, and making communities aware of the importance of public health measures that improve oral health for children, such as the benefits of community water fluoridation, DrBicuspid.com reports.

“As a pediatric dentist, I really appreciate their [general dentists’] efforts in preventing caries for young children,” said Dr. Lindsey Robinson of the American Dental Association. “We need to keep in mind that this is national data, and there are communities where tooth decay in young children is highly prevalent. My community is one of those.”