Root caries prevalence and severity in Brazilian adults and
          older people

Marques, Regina Auxiliadora de Amorim; Antunes, José Leopoldo Ferreira; Sousa, Maria da Luz Rosário; Peres, Marco Aurélio; Frazão, Paulo

doi:10.1590/S0034-8910.2013047004365

OBJECTIVE:

To estimate the prevalence of root caries in Brazilian adults and elderly.

METHODS:

We assessed data from the Brazilian Oral Health Survey (SBBrasil 2010). Dental examinations were performed on 9,564 adults and 7,509 elderly individuals in households in the 26 state capitals, the Federal District and 150 provincial towns. Diagnostic criteria and data assessment tools were those standardized by the World Health Organization. The outcome was measured by using root caries index and the index of decayed and filled dental roots.

RESULTS:

The prevalence of root caries was 16.7% in adults and 13.6% in the elderly. The index of decayed and filled dental roots was 0.42 and 0.32 for adults and the elderly respectively, with most of the index represented by untreated caries. The prevalence of root caries differed significantly among states capitals and provincial towns, with higher values being reported in the state capitals in the North and Northeastern Brazilian regions. In adults, the root caries index ranged from 1.4% in Aracaju to 15.1% in Salvador (both in the Northeast). Among the elderly, this index ranged from 3.5% in Porto Velho to 29.9% in Palmas (both North). Root caries was more prevalent in men than in women in both age groups.

CONCLUSIONS:

There is a wide variation in root caries indices in adults and in the elderly, and between and within Brazilian regions. Most root caries is untreated. We recommend the incorporation of this disease into the oral health surveillance system.

Adult; Aged; Root Caries, epidemiology; Health Inequalities; Dental Health Surveys; Oral Health

[TFN01t01_en] ^D-R
: mean number of roots with caries

[TFN02t01_en] ^F-R
: fillings due to caries

[TFN03t01_en] ^DF-R
: roots with caries and fillings

[TFN04t01_en] ^RCI
: Root Caries Index

State capitals	n	D-R	F-R	DF-R	DF-R ≥ 1 (%)	RCI (%)

North
Porto Velho, RO	321	0.28	0.01	0.29	13.7	1.6
Rio Branco, AC	207	0.51	0.05	0.56	17.4	9.7
Manaus, AM	222	0.28	0.03	0.31	16.9	5.5
Boa Vista, RR	179	0.10	0.02	0.12	8.7	4.1
Belém, PA	488	0.70	0.01	0.71	23.8	14.3
Macapá, AP	345	0.42	0.03	0.45	19.2	6.1
Palmas, TO	295	0.14	0.05	0.19	10.6	9.6
Northeast
São Luís, MA	157	0.36	0.42	0.78	28.5	5.1
Teresina, PI	257	0.69	0.04	0.73	20.7	4.9
Fortaleza, CE	369	0.18	0.02	0.20	8.8	7.6
Natal, RN	174	0.41	0.09	0.50	23.1	10.0
João Pessoa, PB	212	0.66	0.07	0.73	22.5	12.3
Recife, PE	145	0.51	0.00	0.51	18.5	6.8
Maceió, AL	187	0.18	0.03	0.21	15.5	4.7
Aracaju, SE	214	0.12	0.01	0.13	9.1	1.4
Salvador, BA	267	0.18	0.02	0.20	11.2	15.1
Southeast
Belo Horizonte, MG	257	0.32	0.04	0.36	16.1	7.9
Vitória, ES	155	0.27	0.07	0.34	17.9	5.8
Rio de Janeiro, RJ	324	0.17	0.01	0.18	8.6	10.5
São Paulo, SP	373	0.20	0.06	0.26	12.6	3.8
South
Curitiba, PR	414	0.35	0.06	0.41	20.0	4.9
Florianópolis, SC	219	0.27	0.08	0.35	14.3	5.6
Porto Alegre, RS	431	0.05	0.12	0.17	6.0	2.7
Central-West
Campo Grande, MS	379	0.26	0.16	0.42	18.0	10.5
Cuiabá, MT	118	0.33	0.04	0.37	17.1	9.6
Goiânia, GO	241	0.36	0.01	0.37	20.8	7.4
Brasília, DF	223	0.06	0.02	0.08	7.1	3.7
Cities in the interior
North	463	0.57	0.01	0.58	22.9	4.7
Northeast	422	0.52	0.15	0.67	23.2	8.2
Southeast	477	0.28	0.14	0.42	16.6	5.9
South	555	0.40	0.15	0.55	19.9	6.9
Central-West	474	0.67	0.17	0.84	28.4	11.9
Brazil	9.564	0.32	0.10	0.42	16.7	6.5%
Brazil		0.25-0.38	0.05-0.16	0.33-0.51	14.2-19.1	8.1-12.9

State capitals	n	C-R	O-R	CO-R	CO-R ≥ 1 (%)	ICR (%)

North
Porto Velho, RO	201	0.12	0.01	0.13	6.2	3.5
Rio Branco, AC	182	0.39	0.03	0.42	14.9	21.4
Manaus, AM	178	0.11	0.06	0.17	9.3	4.6
Boa Vista, RR	192	0.43	0.12	0.55	18.6	21.2
Belém, PA	250	0.68	0.01	0.69	26.7	21.7
Macapá, AP	238	0.51	0.00	0.51	16.8	11.3
Palmas, TO	164	0.22	0.19	0.41	14.3	29.9
Northeast
São Luís, MA	206	0.41	0.00	0.41	18.4	7.6
Teresina, PI	212	0.30	0.00	0.30	9.0	6.9
Fortaleza, CE	254	0.22	0.05	0.27	11.6	14.4
Natal, RN	230	0.62	0.16	0.78	24.1	21.0
João Pessoa, PB	211	0.81	0.07	0.88	21.8	18.8
Recife, PE	224	0.27	0.04	0.31	14.1	7.8
Maceió, AL	181	0.16	0.04	0.20	9.6	5.8
Aracaju, SE	192	0.16	0.10	0.26	14.3	8.2
Salvador, BA	261	0.25	0.03	0.28	13.4	19.0
Southeast
Belo Horizonte, MG	246	0.26	0.11	0.37	19.5	10.4
Vitória, ES	173	0.37	0.18	0.55	19.2	12.3
Rio de Janeiro, RJ	323	0.09	0.02	0.11	4.8	4.5
São Paulo, SP	255	0.21	0.09	0.30	13.2	9.6
South
Curitiba, PR	280	0.33	0.29	0.62	23.3	13.9
Florianópolis, SC	224	0.24	0.18	0.42	19.3	9.5
Porto Alegre, RS	303	0.18	0.17	0.35	14.0	7.3
Central-West
Campo Grande, MS	207	0.40	0.16	0.56	20.6	13.7
Cuiabá, MT	155	0.49	0.09	0.58	17.6	12.2
Goiânia, GO	234	0.21	0.17	0.38	13.2	10.8
Brasília, DF	139	0.07	0.14	0.21	10.9	13.2
Cities in the interior
North	317	0.33	0.02	0.35	14.1	10.5
Northeast	300	0.28	0.04	0.32	13.0	13.6
Southeast	280	0.18	0.14	0.32	14.1	11.3
Southeast	341	0.27	0.11	0.38	15.8	13.3
Central-West	356	0.38	0.05	0.43	17.8	17.2
Brazil	7.509	0.22	0.10	0.32	13.6	11.2
Brazil		0.16-0.27	0.05-0.15	0.25-0.39	11.1-16.0	8.3-14.1

Upper dental arch

Adults			The elderly

Tooth	Existing root (%) (a)	Exposed root (%) (b)	Tooth	Existing root (%) (a)	Exposed root (%) (b)

18	1.9	5.1	18	4.4	9.1
17	2.9	6.6	17	4.0	6.4
16	4.5	8.9	16	6.3	9.0
15	2.4	4.9	15	7.5	12.3
14	2.5	5.4	14	8.9	14.9
13	2.2	5.2	13	6.3	10.6
12	1.1	2.8	12	4.2	8.1
11	1.2	3.2	11	2.5	5.0
21	1.6	4.2	21	2.9	5.4
22	1.2	3.2	22	2.4	4.9
23	1.6	3.8	23	3.2	5.4
24	2.4	5.2	24	4.2	8.1
25	2.8	6.2	25	3.3	4.9
26	3.0	6.0	26	6.9	9.5
27	2.2	4.9	27	3.5	5.1
28	1.3	3.5	28	3.5	6.5

Lower dental arch

Adults			The elderly

Tooth	Existing root (%) (a)	Exposed root (%) (b)	Tooth	Existing root (%) (a)	Exposed root (%) (b)

38	2.6	6.7	38	7.6	13.2
37	1.9	4.4	37	2.9	5.1
36	3.5	8.2	36	6.2	10.0
35	2.8	5.5	35	6.2	9.7
34	2.4	4.8	34	10.1	15.2
33	0.9	1.9	33	7.7	11.2
32	0.8	1.6	32	4.1	5.9
31	0.5	1.1	31	3.1	4.3
41	0.5	1.1	41	3.2	4.4
42	0.8	1.6	42	3.9	5.6
43	0.8	1.7	43	7.4	10.9
44	2.1	4.2	44	12.3	16.8
45	2.7	5.1	45	9.1	13.8
46	3.0	6.7	46	13.0	22.5
47	2.1	5.0	47	11.8	20.8
48	2.4	6.1	48	10.3	20.0

Brasil

Brasil

Root caries prevalence and severity in Brazilian adults and older people

OBJECTIVE:

METHODS:

RESULTS:

CONCLUSIONS: