OCCUPATION AND HEALTH ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (24): 3413-3418.

• Treatise • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Meta-analysis of the prevalence of dental caries among primary and secondary school students in China

HAO Zhengyang1, CHEN Xiangjun1,2, WU Ruipeng1,2, PENG Qing1, WANG Shaokang1,2()   

  1. 1 School of MedicineXizang Minzu University,XianyangShaanxi 712082, China
    2 Department of Nutrition and Food HygieneSchool of Public Health,Southeast University,NanjingJiangsu 210009, China
  • Received:2025-04-12 Revised:2025-04-28 Online:2025-12-15 Published:2026-01-22
  • Contact: WANG Shaokang,Professor,E-mail:shaokangwang@seu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Objective To understand the prevalence of dental caries among primary and secondary school students over the past five years,and provide scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of dental caries among primary and secondary school students. Methods A systematic literature search was conducted in the CNKI,Pubmed,VIP,Wanfang,Web of Science,Embase,and Medline databases for studies on the epidemiology of dental caries among primary and secondary school students in China from January 2020 to September 2024. A meta-analysis was performed on the selected studies that met the predefined criteria,and subgroup analysis were carried out based on gender,educational level,regional distribution,and place of residence. Results A total of 47 articles were included,including 1 961 694 primary and secondary school students and 557 186 cases of dental caries. Meta-analysis results indicated that the composite detection rate of dental caries among primary and secondary school-aged children in China was 41.5%(95%CI:38.0%-45.0%). Subgroup analysis results revealed a combined prevalence of dental caries of 50.6%(95%CI:46.3%-45.8%) among primary school students and 31.6%(95%CI:26.9%-36.4%) among secondary school students,with statistically significant differences between different grades(P<0.05). The difference in different geographical regions were statistically significant(P<0.05),with the highest prevalence of dental caries among primary and secondary school students in Northeast China,at 68.9%(95%CI:66.8%-71.0%),while the lowest prevalence among primary and secondary school students in Central China,at 32.0%(95%CI:21.8%-43.2%). In addition,there were no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of dental caries among primary and secondary school students of different genders and place of residence(both P>0.05). Conclusion Attention should be paid to the prevalence of dental caries among primary and secondary school students in China. It is necessary to strengthen the prevention and treatment of dental caries and oral health among primary and secondary school students,and carry out targeted publicity and education.

Key words: Primary and secondary school students, Dental caries, Prevalence, Meta-analysis

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