Biannual Dental Epidemiological Survey of five-year-olds
7 July 2021
Thank you for continuing to enable us to better understand and support young children’s oral health by providing opportunity for children to be involved in the survey in school.
Kent County Council have commissioned the community dental service to survey the dental health of children aged five and identify if they have any decayed filled, or missing teeth. We are mindful that for some children in participating in this survey they will experience their first dental check. Parents will be advised to take their child to visit a dentist for treatment where needed.
Tooth decay is preventable but continues to be the most common oral disease in children. Toothache can cause difficulties with speaking, smiling, socialising, sleeping, and eating and for some children will result in school absence.
Of the Kent schools involved in the 5-year-old oral epidemiological survey the findings from the last three surveys, show that the oral health of 5-year-old children in Kent has declined. It has also been shown ‘that children who are above a healthy weight are more likely to have dental decay in all deprivation categories
The most recent dental health survey of five years olds in Kent in 2018/19 found:
- Prevalence of experience of dental decay was 19.9%
- 16.4% of children had active dental decay,
- Mean number of teeth with experience of dental decay in children with any decay experience was 3.3 in Kent similar to the England average 3.4.
Children are more at risk of developing tooth decay if they:
- have a diet high in sugars,
- brush their teeth without parental supervision,
- brush their teeth less than twice per day with fluoride toothpaste.
National data suggests that extraction of teeth due to tooth decay is the most common reason for hospital admission amongst children aged six to ten years old.
Nationally it is observed that significant inequalities continue, with admission rates for tooth extraction being nearly four times higher in the most deprived communities when compared to those living in the most affluent communities.
This survey of five-year-olds dental health also provides an opportunity for schools to promote the care of teeth, part of which is having teeth checked.
You can access free primary teaching resources, promotional and informative resources for parents and children from Change for Life
