Table 1. Prevalence of untreated tooth decay in primary teeth among children aged 2–5 years

2024 Oral Health Surveillance Report—Table 1

Characteristic	2017–March 2020
	%b	SE
Total	11.1	1.49
Sex
Male (reference)	12.0	2.18
Female	10.1	1.42
Race and ethnicity
White, non-Hispanic (reference)	8.1	2.20
Black, non-Hispanic	8.7	1.71
Mexican American	18.5*	2.71
Poverty statusc
High poverty	18.0*	2.58
Middle poverty	NR	NR
Low poverty (reference)	6.6	1.31
Poverty statusc
High and middle poverty combined	15.2*	2.47
Low poverty (reference)	6.6	1.31

Note: All estimates are adjusted by age (single years) to the U.S. 2000 standard population. Estimates are based on all U.S. race and ethnicity groups, except the estimates for specific race and ethnicity categories. NR = Not reported because the sample size is <30 or the standard error is >30% of the point estimate value. SE = standard error. Reference groups were used to test for statistical differences within sociodemographic characteristics.

* P <0.05 based on t-test for differences against the reference group.
^a Defined as having one or more untreated decayed primary teeth among children with at least one primary tooth.
^b Weighted prevalence estimates.
^c Defined as the percentage of family income relative to the federal poverty level (FPL). High poverty = <100% FPL; middle poverty = 100%–199% FPL; high or middle poverty combined = <200% FPL; and low poverty = ≥200% FPL.