The number of primary school-aged children with tooth decay has fallen by more than 10 per cent over the past decade, a study led by The University of Queensland has found.
Data from 7718 school students aged between 5-14 years was collected as part of the Queensland Child Oral Health Study (QCOHS) 2021-24, which was carried out in collaboration with Queensland Health and the Queensland Department of Education at randomly selected state, independent and Catholic schools.
Professor Loc Do from UQ’s School of Dentistry said the results were compared to the first QCOHS study in 2010-2012, with the primary aim of evaluating the effectiveness of water fluoridation expansion in Queensland.
“We found the percentage of children aged 5-10 years with tooth decay in their baby teeth fell from 49.5 per cent to 38.8 per cent in the latest survey,” Professor Do said.
“The average number of tooth surfaces that have had decay in this group was also lower at 2.9 compared to 4.1 previously, indicating a steady decline over the past decade.
“It’s important to note, these improvements were predominantly seen in newly fluoridated areas, while there was little change in the experience of tooth decay in areas without water fluoridation.
“The significant benefit of water fluoridation remained even after taking into consideration socio-economic factors and health behaviours and was maintained in older children with adult teeth.”
Queensland’s chief dental officer Ben Stute added: “This study… adds up-to-date, high-quality and local evidence supporting the effectiveness of water fluoridation, which I hope will provide reassurance to local councils regarding the important impact of this initiative.”
