Reduction in decay among 5 year olds since 2008
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- Published: Wednesday, 25 September 2013 17:04
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Acording to the latest figures from the oral health survey of five-year-old children in 2012, 27.9% of five-year-old children in England had experienced dental decay. This is a 9.7% reduction since 2008. However the results reveal wide variation in the prevalence and severity of dental decay: the areas with poorer oral health tend to be in the north and in the more deprived local authorities.
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This report presents summarised results from the National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England, oral health survey of five-year-old children, 2012. Overall, 27.9% of five-year-old children in England whose parents gave consent for participation in this survey had experienced dental decay. On average these children had 3.38 teeth that were decayed, missing or filled (at age five, children normally have 20 primary teeth). The average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth in the whole sample (including the 72.1% who were decay free) was 0.94. At the regional and local authority level, the results reveal wide variation in the prevalence and severity of dental decay: the areas with poorer oral health tend to be in the north and in the more deprived local authorities.
The results show a reduction in the proportion of children with dental decay from 30.9% in 2008 to 27.9% in 2012, equating to a percentage change of 9.7%. Reductions in severity were also evident, with the number of decayed missing or filled teeth falling from 1.11 in 2008 to 0.94 in 2012, a reduction of 15.3%. It is not possible to make direct comparisons with the 1992 to 2006 series of surveys due to differences in the methodology. However, a change in trends within each of the survey series is observable. Data from the 1992 to 2006 series shows there was little change in the prevalence or severity of decay between 1998 and 2006. The first two points of the new 2008 to 2012 series show a reduction that requires further investigation to determine the possible causes. This reduction is not unique in that surveys in Wales and Scotland have shown similar trends over a similar period.
Local authorities are now responsible for improving health and reducing inequalities, including oral health. A national document entitled Commissioning better oral health aimed at supporting local authorities is scheduled to be produced by Public Health England early in 2014. Full tables of results are available at www.nwph.net/dentalhealth
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