Childhood caries in the state of Kentucky, USA: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Untreated dental caries afflicts almost one third of school-aged children in the United States and many of them are from disadvantaged families. This cross-sectional study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of untreated caries in north central Kentucky, USA and to examine the relationships between the available demographic variables and untreated childhood caries as reported on the forms from the Smile Kentucky! program.

Methods: During the fall of 2008, caries status was assessed during the visual oral screening examination component of "SmileKentucky!"- a model of the American Dental Association's Give Kids A Smile program.