A 12-Year Comparison of Dental Treatment Patterns in the Primary and Early Permanent Dentition.

The purpose of this study was to examine trends in primary and early permanent dentition treatment patterns and the relationships between them. A secondary data analysis was performed using Medicaid claims from 2011 to 2022 for North Carolina children ages zero to 12 years. Trends and expenditures of two primary dental treatment patterns were analyzed: early childhood caries (ECC), defined as treatment to primary maxillary incisors and/or primary first molars in zero- to five-year-olds; and late childhood caries (LCC), which comprised treatment to the proximal surfaces of primary molars in six to 12-year-olds.