BACKGROUND: Identifying the dental caries risk factors helps plan interventions. This scoping review mapped the existing literature on dental caries risk indicators for children, adolescents, and adults in Nigeria. It elucidated the commonalities and differences in these populations' behavioral, biological, and social risk indicators, and identified the local government areas in Nigeria where information on dental caries risk indicators are missing. METHODS: A search of the literature search was performed in July 2023 in PubMed, African Journal Online, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Library [CENTRAL] using a combination of keywords related to dental caries, risk factors, early childhood, children, adults, and Nigeria. Only peer-reviewed full-length articles on risk factors for dental caries in Nigeria published in English were included. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the study's characteristics and risk indicators for dental caries. The risk indicators for dental caries were categorized into behavioral, biological, and social. Differences and commonalities of the identified behavioral, biological, and social risk indicators for the three populations were identified. RESULTS: After screening 570 studies, 27 publications for preschoolers, 37 for school children/adolescents, and 17 for adults met the inclusion criteria. For all groups, key social risk indicators were age, gender, socioeconomic, and educational status, biological risk indicators were anthropometric measurements and bacterial counts, and behavioral risks indicators were toothbrushing, snacking, and oral hygiene. Peculiar behavioral, biological, and social risk indicators were identified for each age group. Most studies are clustered in southern Nigeria. In addition, studies in preschoolers was skew to southwestern Nigeria, that of children/adolescents were skewed to Ife Central LGA in Osun State, while that for adults were skewed to Egor LGA in Edo State. Furthermore, participants recruitment was most diverse in Lagos State. CONCLUSIONS: The shared risk indicators for dental caries can facilitate the development of overarching caries prevention program for the difference age groups in Nigeria. while the age specific risk indicators can inform the development of population specific interventions. This scoping review underscores the importance of a holistic, life course approach to dental caries risk management.