HC4.C Oral health: Percentage of children ages 5–17 with untreated dental caries (cavities) by age, poverty status, and race and Hispanic origin, 1988–1994, 1999–2004, 2005–2008, and 2009

HC4.C Oral health: Percentage of children ages 5–17 with untreated dental caries (cavities) by age, poverty status, and race and Hispanic origin, 1988–1994, 1999–2004, 2005–2008, and 2009–2010

Characteristic	1988–1994	1999–2004	2005–2008	2009–2010
Ages 5–17
Total	24.3	23.3	16.3	14.2
Poverty status
Below 100% poverty	39.0	33.4	26.0	21.5
100–199% poverty	29.7	32.2	18.2	18.6
200% poverty and above	15.2	14.5	11.8	9.6
Race and Hispanic origin^a
White, non-Hispanic	19.5	19.7	13.1	11.4
Black, non-Hispanic	33.2	28.5	21.9	20.7
Mexican American	38.3	34.1	22.0	21.3
Ages 5–11
Total	27.8	27.1	20.2	15.7
Poverty status
Below 100% poverty	43.4	37.5	30.1	23.4
100–199% poverty	31.7	36.1	22.6	19.8
200% poverty and above	18.1	17.3	15.0	10.6
Race and Hispanic origin^a
White, non-Hispanic	23.0	23.3	17.5	12.3
Black, non-Hispanic	34.3	32.1	26.1	17.9
Mexican American	42.5	39.0	24.9	27.0
Ages 12–17
Total	20.0	18.8	11.9	12.5
Poverty status
Below 100% poverty	32.5	28.1	20.1	19.3
100–199% poverty	27.4	26.8	12.4	16.9
200% poverty and above	11.7	11.6	8.8	8.5
Race and Hispanic origin^a
White, non-Hispanic	15.2	15.5	8.6	10.4
Black, non-Hispanic	31.9	24.1	17.2	23.8
Mexican American	32.8	27.2	17.9	13.8
^a For 1988–1994, the 1977 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Standards for Data on Race and Ethnicity were used to classify persons into one of the following four racial groups: White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. For 1999–2010, the revised 1997 OMB Standards were used. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Included in the total but not shown separately are American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and "Two or more races." Beginning in 1999, those in each racial category represent those reporting only one race. Data from 1999 onward are not directly comparable with data from earlier years. Data on race and Hispanic origin are collected separately but combined for reporting. Persons of Mexican origin may be of any race. From 1988 to 2006, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) sample was designed to provide estimates specifically for persons of Mexican origin. Beginning in 2007, NHANES allows for reporting of both total Hispanics and Mexican Americans; however, estimates reported here are for Mexican Americans to be consistent with earlier years.
Note: Children ages 5–17 had at least one primary or permanent tooth with untreated decay. Data for 2005–08 were collected by health technologists and data for 2009–10 were collected by dental hygienists and are comparable to 1988–1994 and 1999–2004 data, which were collected by dentists.
SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.