>> The study offers an updated overview of the current oral health status of schoolchildren in Mallorca and reinforces the importance of prevention.
>> Signs associated with periodontal risk also increase during adolescence: the prevalence of dental calculus reaches 52.8% among 15-year-old schoolchildren.
>> The study, published in the *Journal of Clinical Medicine*, applies the World Health Organization’s Pathfinder methodology to a sample of 718 students aged 5–6, 12, and 15 to assess the presence of caries, periodontal indicators, anthropometric variables, and preventive habits among the school-age population of Mallorca.
Palma, August 10, 2026.— The oral health of schoolchildren in Mallorca is one of the research areas of the Oral Health Observatory at the University of Mallorca. In this context, a study conducted by researchers from the University of Mallorca involving 718 students found that 45.49% of 15-year-old adolescents show a history of caries in their permanent dentition.
The study, titled “Prevalence of Oral Diseases and the Influence of the Presence of Overweight/Obesity in Schoolchildren Population in Mallorca,” has been published in the scientific journal *Journal of Clinical Medicine*. This work represents the first update on the oral health epidemiological status of schoolchildren in Mallorca since the study conducted in 2005, and offers a current overview of how these indicators have evolved on the island.
Its authors are Dr. Irene Coll, Dr. Daniela Vallejos, Professor Raúl Cuesta, Dr. Jorge Domínguez, Dr. Pilar Tomás, and Dr. Nora López-Safont, researchers at the University of Mallorca.
The study analyzes the prevalence of oral diseases among the school-age population of Mallorca and its possible relationship with overweight and obesity. To this end, the researchers studied three age groups considered benchmarks in epidemiological oral health studies: children aged 5–6, 12-year-old schoolchildren, and 15-year-old adolescents.
The sample consisted of 255 children aged 5–6, 230 schoolchildren aged 12, and 233 adolescents aged 15 from schools in Mallorca. The study was conducted in accordance with World Health Organization international criteria for oral health studies and employed the Pathfinder method, an epidemiological approach that provides a representative overview of oral health in key population groups.
In Mallorca, the study focused on schoolchildren aged 5–6, 12, and 15—ages considered benchmarks for assessing the progression of caries and periodontal indicators, as well as their relationship with other health factors.
The results show an increase in caries experience with age. In the 5–6-year-old group, caries in the primary dentition affected 40% of the children examined. In the permanent dentition, the prevalence of caries was 7.84% in this same group. At age 12, it rose to 27.39%, while among 15-year-old adolescents, it reached 45.49%.
As lead researcher Dr. Irene Coll explained, “this finding is particularly significant because adolescence is a stage when habits regarding hygiene, diet, and self-care become established—habits that can have consequences throughout adulthood. Tooth decay is not merely an isolated dental lesion, as numerous studies have shown; it can cause pain and affect diet, quality of life, school attendance, and self-esteem, in addition to creating the need for more complex treatments later on.”
In addition to dental caries, the study detected a high prevalence of dental calculus among the adolescents. It was observed in 52.8% of cases at age 15, compared to 30% among 12-year-old schoolchildren. This finding points to an increase in signs associated with periodontal risk as age advances.
In this regard, Dr. Irene Coll notes that while periodontal disease is traditionally associated with adulthood, it can also begin to manifest at an early stage. “The presence of dental calculus does not necessarily equate to advanced periodontal disease, but it does signal an accumulation of mineralized plaque and highlights the need to reinforce prevention, oral hygiene education, and professional monitoring,” she pointed out.
One of the most significant aspects of the study, as the researcher explained, is that “it does not analyze the mouth as an isolated system, but rather within the broader context of child health. The study set out to explore the possible link between oral pathology and overweight or obesity—problems that may share risk factors related to nutrition, lifestyle habits, sugar consumption, and inflammation.”
Dental caries is a multifactorial disease associated with the presence of biofilm and influenced by diet. Its development depends on biological, behavioral, psychosocial, and environmental factors. Overweight and obesity, meanwhile, are also linked to dietary patterns, physical activity, metabolism, and inflammation. Therefore, researchers consider it important to study both dimensions together in the school-age population.
The study did not find a statistically significant association between being overweight or obese and oral pathology in general terms. Specifically, the analyses did not confirm a direct relationship with either dental caries or periodontal disease.
However, when examining the number of healthy teeth in relation to weight percentile, researchers observed a pattern among schoolchildren aged 5–6 and 12: those in lower weight percentiles had fewer healthy teeth than those in higher percentiles. This pattern was not observed among 15-year-old adolescents.
The authors note that oral conditions can have both short- and long-term consequences. During childhood, they can cause pain, infections, difficulty eating, and self-esteem issues. Over time, poor oral health can lead to a greater need for treatment, tooth loss, periodontal disease, and a decline in general health.