Tooth decay

HC Deb 27 June 1985 vol 81 cc482-3W

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what was the percentage proportion of children of different ages with known tooth decay in England and Wales over each of the last five years;

(2) what was the average number of teeth with known tooth decay experienced by children in England and Wales over each of the last five years.

Mr. Kenneth Clarke

[pursuant to his reply, 24 June 1985, c. 333–34]: We can obtain this information only from the 10-yearly children's dental health surveys and the most recent comparative data for England and Wales are as follows:

Percentage of children with treated or active dental decay in both the primary and permanent teeth.
Age	1973	1983
5	71	48
6	80	55
7	86	65
8	91	73
9	93	79
10	93	80
11	95	80
12	95	83
13	95	83
14	96	88
15	97	93

Average number of teech with treated or active dental decay in both the primary and permanent teeth.
Age	1973	1983
5	3.4	1.7
6	3.9	2.0
7	4.3	2.7
8	5.0	3.0
9	5.0	3.4
10	4.9	3.4
11	4.9	3.4
12	5.2	3.3
13	6.2	3.8
14	7.4	4.7
15	8.4	5.7