Epidemiology of dental root caries: a review of risk factors

Root surface caries is a common disease among the older adults worldwide. This paper reports on two recent systematic reviews which were conducted to identify the risk factors of root caries, one on risk indicators and one on risk predictors, and to describe their relationship with the prevalence and incidence of root caries. Articles in four electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Scopus) published in 1990 to 2018 were searched. Epidemiological studies conducted on general populations and investigated at least one risk factor of root caries were included. Relevant information was extracted by two reviewers independently. The factors were put into five main categories, namely demographic and social background, health behaviors, general health, oral health habits and oral health conditions. Forty crosssectional surveys (78,183 participants in total) and 16 longitudinal cohort studies (7,340 participants in total) from different countries worldwide were included in the reviews. There were positive correlations between dental root caries and age, past root caries experience, exposure of root surfaces and use of tobacco. Negative correlations with socio-economic status and oral hygiene were found. Higher risk of having or developing new root caries were found among the older adults, people with lower socio-economic status, tobacco users, and those with greater root caries experience, more gingival recession and more dental plaque.