A review of dental caries in adolescents, risk factors and preventive strategies.

Background and objective: The adolescent stage is critical because of the increase in influences from peers and media and exposure to unhealthy food environments and aggressive marketing. This necessitates the need for dentists, dental and oral health therapists, hygienists, and others to engage with adolescents early for establishing good life-long oral health habits. A review of New Zealand school Year 8 children's and adolescents' dental caries experience shows improvements over recent years for Māori, Pacific, and non-Māori and non-Pacific children. However, large ethnic inequalities persist, with no sign of the gaps closing. The objective of this paper was to examine risk factors associated with dental caries in New Zealand adolescents, identify current strategies to improve caries experience, and make recommendations for further improvement. Methods: Electronic databases and electronic and hand-searches of reference lists of articles, reports, and textbooks used were identified, and findings were organised into common themes. Findings: Seven themes have updated: past caries experience and current caries activity; dietary habits; oral hygiene habits; exposure to fluoride; access to dental services; oral health literacy; and socioeconomic background of adolescents and parents/caregivers. Each of these themes is described in detail. For various reasons, adolescents are susceptible to higher dental caries experience. Conclusion: While dental practitioners and others engage with adolescents early and provide appropriate preventive practices, additional effective strategies proposed are needed to further improve the overall caries experience among New Zealand adolescents and to reduce ethnic inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]