Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41762791›Full record

ArticleInternational dental journal2026

Caries in primary teeth and caries in permanent teeth: association and effect modifiers.

Sicheng Wu, Edward Chin Man Lo, Chun Hung Chu, May Chun Mei Wong

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Article in International dental journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Sicheng WuApplied Oral Sciences and Community Dental Care, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Edward Chin Man LoApplied Oral Sciences and Community Dental Care, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Chun Hung ChuRestorative Dental Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
May Chun Mei WongApplied Oral Sciences and Community Dental Care, Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: mcmwong@hku.hk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate the relationship between caries in primary teeth and caries in permanent teeth among primary school students, and to identify potential effect modifiers of this relationship.

methodsThis retrospective cohort study utilized real-world caries examination data from the School Dental Care Service (SDCS) provided by the Hong Kong SAR government. Primary school students in grades 3 (P3) or 4 (P4) who participated in the SDCS were recruited from school dental clinics. The exposure was defined as any caries experience in primary teeth in Grade 1. To account for potential confounding factors, the marginal structural model with overlap weight was applied to estimate the average treatment effect for the overlap population.

resultsAmong 825 children (mean [SD] age in P1: 6.2 [0.3]; boys 54.7%) without caries in permanent teeth (DMFT = 0) in P1, the incidence of caries experience in permanent teeth (DMFT > 0) increased to 5.7% and 10.5% in P2 and P3, respectively. Among those with caries experience in primary teeth (dmft > 0, n = 443), 15.4% had caries experience in permanent teeth in P3 compared to only 4.9% among those without (n = 382; adjusted risk ratio 2.8 [95% CI: 1.7-4.8; P < .001]; adjusted risk difference 9.6% [95% CI: 5.4-13.8; P < .001]). Sex and only-child status significantly modified this relationship, with stronger associations observed in boys and non-only children.

conclusionsCaries in primary teeth increased the risk of developing caries in permanent teeth. This association was modified by sex and only-child status. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Controlling caries in primary teeth is essential for preventing caries in permanent teeth. Risk-stratified interventions targeting boys and non-only children may optimize preventive outcomes and resource allocation in oral health promotion programs.

Indexed as

Dental CariesDentition, PermanentTooth, DeciduousChildDMF IndexFemaleHong KongHumansIncidenceMaleRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsCariesCausal inferenceDental public healthEarly childhood cariesElectronic dental recordsPreventive dentistry

Identifiers

PMID41762791
PMCPMC12962149

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.