§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will indicate what research is undertaken by her Department, and what statistics are kept, on the dental health of the population at regional, family health services authority and district health authority levels.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Department commissions the Office of Population Censuses and Survey to undertake surveys into the dental health of adults and children. The last decennial adult dental health survey was in 1988. A similar child dental health survey will take place in 1993. Data is published by HMSO and is available in the Library. There is current research into the dental needs of an aging population and into young childrens' dental health. The Department also uses information collected by district dental officers and collated by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry.