Table 4.
Unadjusted Mean Caries Experience According to Fluoridation Status among U.S. 2- to 17-y-olds: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2004 and 2011 to 2014.
| 2- to 8-y-old dfs |
6- to 17-y-old DMFS |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of County Fluoridateda | n | Mean (95% CL) | n | Mean (95% CL) |
| <75% of county population (a) | 2,914 | 4.6 (3.9, 5.4) | 5,107 | 2.2 (2.0, 2.4) |
| ≥75% of county population (b) | 4,086 | 3.3 (2.8, 3.7) | 7,497 | 1.9 (1.8, 2.1) |
| Absolute difference: (a) minus (b) | 1.3 (0.6, 2.2) | 0.3 (0.0, 0.5) | ||
| Prevented fraction: [(a) minus (b)]/(a) × 100 (%) | 30 (11, 48) | 12 (1, 23) | ||
CL, confidence limit; dfs, number of decayed or filled primary tooth surfaces per person; DMFS, number of decayed, missing, or filled permanent tooth surfaces per person; n, unweighted number of participants in descriptive sample.
a
Percentage of county population served by public water systems with ≥0.7 ppm fluoride.