Dental Health Trends in Delhi: 2025 Edition

1. Introduction

Delhi in 2025 is a city of contrasts: world-class hospitals and best dental clinics in Delhi on one side, and crowded colonies and informal settlements on the other. This contrast is clearly visible in dental health. While awareness of cosmetic dentistry, aligners and regular check-ups is increasing in middle- and upper-income groups, preventable oral diseases such as dental caries and gum disease remain highly prevalent in children, adults and older people.

National data show that India carries a disproportionately high share of the global oral-disease burden. A 2021 meta-analysis estimated overall dental caries prevalence at about 54% in India, with 62% of adults and 52% of children (3–18 years) affected. (PMC) A 2022 WHO report further highlighted that India accounts for roughly 18–20% of global cases of dental caries in both permanent and deciduous teeth, and over 20% of severe periodontal disease worldwide. (NBEMS)

Delhi, as a dense urban centre with high sugar consumption, heavy pollution and mixed access to care, mirrors and often amplifies these national trends.

2. Data Sources and Methods

This 2025 overview draws on:

Recent Indian and international reviews on oral-health burden and inequalities. (BioMed Central)
The India Oral Health Country Profile (WHO, 2022) for risk factors, workforce and health-system response.
New economic analyses and behavioural data from the India’s Oral Health Outlook (OHO) project. (Frontiers)
Delhi-NCR specific studies on early childhood caries and preschool oral hygiene.
Studies involving New Delhi adolescents and urban populations to understand inequalities and utilisation. (BMJ Open)

Where Delhi-only data are limited, national figures are interpreted in the context of the city’s known demographic and lifestyle patterns.

3. Burden of Dental Disease in Delhi and India

3.1 Dental caries in children

Across India, caries in children remains widespread despite decades of prevention messages. National surveys and meta-analyses suggest that around half of Indian school-age children have dental caries. (PMC)

In Delhi-NCR preschoolers (3–6 years), a 2024 cross-sectional study of 2,000 children found an overall early childhood caries (ECC) prevalence of 28%. In the Delhi sub-sample, about 11% of children had ECC, with a mean caries score (deft) of 1.55 and mean ECC index of 1.67. Even among children whose hygiene was rated “good”, caries experience was common, suggesting that diet and feeding patterns (frequent sugary snacks, bottle-feeding at night) play a major role.

For older children (6–12 years) in East Delhi, a 2023 school-based study reported caries prevalence slightly higher than the figures from India’s 2002–03 National Oral Health Survey (which had ~50% prevalence in 5-year-olds and 52.5% in 12-year-olds), indicating that caries levels in Delhi schoolchildren remain at or above 50% in many areas. (ResearchGate)

3.2 Adults and older people

National surveillance and GBD estimates show that caries prevalence in adults aged 35–45 years ranges from about 48–86%, and over half of older adults (65–74 years) have caries. (NBEMS) Periodontal disease (gum disease) affects between 15–78% of adults and up to 96% of the elderly in Indian studies. (NBEMS)

Although Delhi has more dentists per capita than most rural regions, local studies in urban resettlement colonies and low-income neighbourhoods still show high levels of untreated decay and missing teeth, particularly among older adults and those with chronic diseases such as diabetes. (ResearchGate) Recent geriatric oral-health reviews emphasise that older Indians frequently have multiple missing teeth, functional limitations and a substantial need for dentures or other prosthetic care. (AMMS Pub)

3.3 Oral cancer

According to the WHO oral-health country profile, India recorded around 136,000 new cases of lip and oral cavity cancer in 2020, with an age-standardised incidence rate of 9.8 per 100,000 people. Given Delhi’s high rates of tobacco use, air pollution and alcohol consumption in some groups, the city is likely to contribute significantly to this burden.

4. Behavioural and Environmental Risk Factors in Delhi

4.1 Sugar, diet and lifestyle

The WHO profile estimates per-capita sugar availability in India at about 53.8 g/day, reflecting easy access to sugary drinks, sweets and refined carbohydrates. Combined with frequent snacking, this creates a high-risk environment for caries, especially in children and adolescents.

Recent research also links increased screen time with worse early childhood caries outcomes, as children who spend more time on devices tend to snack more and brush less consistently. (BioMed Central) In Delhi, where digital device use among children is rapidly rising, this is an emerging concern for paediatric dentists.

4.2 Oral-hygiene habits

National OHO data (2016–2020) show that only 44.7% of Indians brush twice daily, and just 36.7% brush before going to bed, far below ideal levels for caries and gum-disease prevention. (Frontiers)

Interestingly, the Delhi/NCR preschool study found that over 66% of children in the Delhi sub-sample had “good” oral hygiene by OHI-S, yet ECC still affected 11% of them. This highlights that brushing alone is not enough when diet and feeding behaviours are unfavourable.

4.3 Tobacco, alcohol and fluorosis

WHO estimates that 28.1% of Indians aged 15+ currently use tobacco, and average alcohol consumption is about 5.6 litres of pure alcohol per adult per year. These lifestyle factors contribute significantly to the high rates of gum disease and oral cancer in urban settings like Delhi.

On the environmental side, fluoride in drinking water is a double-edged sword: adequate levels protect against caries, but excess causes fluorosis. National groundwater monitoring for 2022–23 reported that about 9% of sampled sources across India had fluoride above 1.5 mg/L, the WHO upper safety limit. While Delhi’s Yamuna floodplain groundwater has been assessed as relatively safe in previous studies, NCR residents also rely on water from neighbouring states where fluorosis remains a concern. (ResearchGate)

5. Inequalities in Dental Health

A 2023 scoping review of oral-health inequalities in India concluded that socio-economic status, education, urban-rural residence and access to services are major determinants of oral health outcomes. (BioMed Central)

This pattern is evident in Delhi:

A New Delhi study of adolescents found a clear gradient in caries experience and number of decayed teeth across neighbourhoods of differing socio-economic status; adolescents from poorer localities had significantly more decay. (BMJ Open)
Local KAP (knowledge, attitude, practices) surveys in Delhi’s low-income areas report limited awareness of the link between oral and general health, irregular brushing, and low utilisation of preventive services, even where clinics are geographically accessible. (ijbpas.com)

In effect, Delhi has “two cities” for dental health: one where residents seek regular check-ups, orthodontics and cosmetic treatments, and another where pain-based, emergency care is the norm.

6. Policy, Services and Economic Impact

India’s Draft National Oral Health Policy (2021) sets several targets relevant for 2025, including:

Establishing baseline national data on oral-disease burden by 2025,
Reducing oral-disease morbidity and mortality by 15% by 2030, and
Increasing community-based oral-health awareness programs by 50% by 2025. (NBEMS)

The WHO country profile reports that India has an oral-health policy or strategy in place or in development and that routine and essential curative dental care are included in the largest government health-financing scheme (covering roughly 30% of the population, consistent with Ayushman Bharat).

Despite this, the economic burden remains substantial. An analysis using OHO data estimated the total economic impact of oral diseases in India at about INR 613.2 billion (USD 7.3 billion) in 2019, considering both direct treatment costs and productivity losses. (Frontiers) Preventive dental consultations, by contrast, are inexpensive—one estimate from a major government institute suggested a cost of around INR 10 per person per year for basic preventive services if scaled nationally. (Frontiers)

Urban centres like Delhi stand to benefit the most from shifting towards prevention, given their large, concentrated populations and existing dental infrastructure.

7. Key Takeaways and Priorities for Delhi in 2025

Based on the latest evidence, several clear trends and priorities emerge:

Caries is highly prevalent and starts early.
ECC affects more than a quarter of preschoolers in Delhi-NCR, and over half of school-age children are likely to have experienced caries, especially in lower-income areas.
Gum disease and tooth loss rise sharply with age.
Periodontal disease and edentulism become common in older adults, impairing chewing, nutrition and quality of life. (NBEMS)
Prevention behaviours are improving but still inadequate.
While many urban families are aware of twice-daily brushing, national data show that fewer than half consistently follow this, and bedtime brushing is particularly neglected. (Frontiers)
Diet, tobacco and alcohol remain powerful drivers.
High sugar availability, widespread tobacco use and growing alcohol consumption continue to fuel caries, periodontal disease and oral cancers in Delhi.
Inequalities are stark.
Children and adults in resettlement colonies and low-income wards bear a disproportionate burden of untreated dental disease, despite living in a city with many dentists and dental colleges. (BMJ Open)
Policy momentum is positive but implementation is uneven.
National policies and WHO guidance emphasise surveillance, prevention and integration with NCD programs, but systematic, city-wide implementation in Delhi is still evolving. (NBEMS)

For policymakers, clinicians and public-health planners in Delhi, 2025 is an opportunity to:

Expand school- and preschool-based screening and fluoride-varnish programs,
Integrate oral-health counselling into primary care and NCD clinics,
Enforce sugar and tobacco control policies more strictly, and
Use digital tools and community health workers to reach underserved colonies with affordable preventive care.

If these steps are prioritised, Delhi can begin to shift from a “treat when it hurts” model to a genuinely preventive, equity-focused oral-health system over the coming decade.