Caries Epidemiology in Children and Adolescents

Dear Colleagues,

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent oral diseases in children and adolescents worldwide and the main oral public health problem. According to the Global Burden of Diseases, untreated caries in permanent teeth was the most prevalent disease (age-standardized prevalence: 34.1%), affecting 2.5 billion people worldwide, while untreated caries in primary teeth affected 573 million people (age-standardized prevalence: 7.8%). The consequences such as pain and suffering, in addition to the socioeconomic consequences, are great. Knowledge of risk factors can help reduce their prevalence and incidence in children and adolescents. Dental caries in children and adolescents have drawn more attention in recent years since good oral health might help avoid more severe repercussions as adults. Planning and implementing preventative or therapeutic interventions aimed at improving children's oral health outcomes requires an understanding of the various individual and contextual risk factors.

This special issue will cover all the aspects of dental caries epidemiology, including clinical aspects, that can be helpful and applicable to clinical pediatric dentistry. This issue will also cover original research and review articles.