What is the proper medical term for tooth decay in a diagnosis?

Proper Medical Terminology for Tooth Decay

The proper medical term for tooth decay in a diagnosis is "dental caries" or simply "caries." 1

Standard Diagnostic Terminology

• "Dental caries" is the universally accepted medical term used in clinical documentation, research literature, and professional guidelines to describe the disease process of tooth decay 1

• The term "caries" (plural form, though often used for singular lesions as well) is preferred over colloquial terms like "tooth decay," "cavities," or outdated terminology such as "baby-bottle tooth decay" 1

Age-Specific Diagnostic Terms

• For children under 6 years of age, the specific diagnostic term is "early childhood caries" (ECC), which replaces older terms like "nursing caries" or "baby-bottle tooth decay" 1

• "Severe early childhood caries" (S-ECC) is used when the disease is aggressive and classified by location, number of teeth affected, and age 1

Clinical Documentation Standards

• When documenting carious lesions in the medical record, specify:

  • Location: "occlusal caries," "proximal caries," "interproximal caries" 1
  • Tooth type: "primary tooth caries" vs. "permanent tooth caries" 1
  • Severity: "initial carious lesion," "noncavitated carious lesion," or "cavitated lesion" 2

• The term "carious lesion" is appropriate when referring to the specific site of decay 1, 3

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Avoid using informal terms like "cavities" in formal diagnoses, though this remains acceptable for patient communication 1

• Do not use outdated terminology such as "baby-bottle tooth decay" in clinical documentation; use "early childhood caries" instead 1

• The term "tooth decay" is acceptable for patient education but should be replaced with "dental caries" or "caries" in professional documentation 3, 4