Paediatric & MIH Observational ✓ Peer reviewed

Predicting Longitudinal Caries Trajectories from Childhood to Early Adulthood

Journal of Dental Research · C. Ogwo, G. Brown, J. Warren, P. Okeagu, D. Caplan, S. Levy · 2026-04-08

Researchers used machine learning to identify three distinct patterns of tooth decay from age 9 to 23 and successfully predicted which children would follow each trajectory based on factors including sex, socioeconomic status, fluoride exposure, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

A plain-English summary of the study's own findings — we don't add our own claims or interpretation. Read the full paper for the complete methods and results, and apply your own clinical judgement.

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