5 results
2 - Measuring child oral health and its influences
-
- By S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide, A Ellershaw, University of Adelaide, L Luzzi, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, LG Do, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 15-34
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Study population and sampling
The target population for the Survey was Australian children aged 5–14 years. To draw a representative sample of children from this target population a stratified two-stage sample design was implemented within each state/territory. In the first stage, schools were selected from a sampling frame of schools located within each jurisdiction. In the second stage, children were sampled from each selected school.
The sampling strategy was designed to derive accurate population estimates of the oral health of Australian children, and to make valid comparisons between the oral health of children across regions within each state. For New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, the geographical regions were based on Area Health Services/Health Districts, while in the remaining jurisdictions they were based on Capital City/Rest of State. As a consequence, the sampling methodology differed slightly for each jurisdiction.
To sample children across the age range of 5–14 years both primary and secondary schools were in scope of the Survey. A sampling frame of schools was created from a list provided by each jurisdiction which included all public, catholic and independent primary and secondary schools. Information provided on the sampling frame for each school included school code, school name and address, school type, school enrolment and health district.
Schools were excluded from the sampling frame if they were:
• located in very remote locations that would be difficult to access by the mobile dental clinic van
• special schools
• small school enrolment (usually <50 students).
New South Wales
In New South Wales (NSW), there were 2,995 schools that were considered in scope with 2,087 primary only, 567 secondary only and 341 combined primary/secondary schools. Schools on the sampling frame were stratified into 15 regions based on NSW Local Health Districts (LHD). The number of primary and secondary schools selected from each LHD was determined by the region's percentage share of total school enrolment. For primary schools, enrolment was defined as children enrolled in year levels Kindergarten to Year 6. For secondary schools, enrolment was defined as children enrolled in year levels 7–9.
11 - Trends in child oral health in Australia
-
- By LG Do, University of Adelaide, L Luzzi, University of Adelaide, DH Ha, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide, JM Armfield, University of Adelaide, AJ Spencer, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 288-305
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Assessing time trend in health and health-related factors is important in monitoring population health and its determinants. The social and economic changes have been at a fast pace in recent times. However, the rate of change is not similar for every population subgroup. There were also different changes in policies and practices related to dental service delivery for children between states and territories. All these differences can have an effect on child oral health.
This chapter presents an analysis of trends between the current Survey and several existing surveys of child oral health in Australia. Australia's previous national survey among children, the National Oral Health Survey of Australia (NOHSA) was conducted in 1987–88. Dental caries experience was collected for samples of children across Australia. The National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH) 2004-06 collected dental fluorosis experience that allows for analysing time trend of fluorosis by year of birth (Slade et al. 2007).
The other available surveys are a series of the National Dental Telephone Interview Surveys (NDTIS) 1994–2013 and the Child Dental Health Surveys (CDHS) series. Dental service use by Australian children has been routinely collected in the NDTIS. The CDHS series collects administrative data on the oral health status of children attending school dental services in Australian states and territories. Therefore, those surveys covered just a proportion of the child population within each state/territory. This difference should be taken into account in interpreting results of this analysis. The CDHS data have been presented for age groups 6 years and 12 years. The presented data had been collected in Australia for the CDHS series from 1989 to 2010.
Two other oral epidemiological studies conducted among children attending school dental services were the Child Fluoride Study (CFS) Mark I 1992–93 and the Child Fluoride Study Mark II 2002–03. The CFS Mark I was conducted in Queensland and South Australia while the CFS Mark II was conducted in four states: Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Information on child oral health behaviours was collected.
Trends in oral health status
Trend in dental caries experience
Time trend in dental caries experience was assessed using the NOHSA 1987–88, the CDHS series and the NCOHS 2012–14.
5 - Children's oral health status in Australia, 2012–14
-
- By DH Ha, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, P Arrow, University of Adelaide, KG Peres, University of Adelaide, LG Do, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 86-152
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction
Dental caries is the most common chronic infectious disease in childhood, caused by a complex interaction over time between acid-producing bacteria and fermentable carbohydrates (sugars and other carbohydrates from food and drink that can be fermented by bacteria), as well as many host factors including teeth condition and saliva (Fejerskov 2004; Fisher-Owens et al. 2007). Dental caries is characterised by the loss of mineral ions from the tooth (demineralisation), stimulated largely by the presence of bacteria and their by-products. Remineralisation occurs when partly dissolved crystals are induced to grow by the redepositing of minerals via saliva. The demineralisation of the tooth surface can be limited by the use of fluorides. Normally, a balance occurs between the demineralisation and remineralisation of the tooth surface (enamel). However, this balance is disturbed under some conditions, and the subsequent chronic demineralisation leads to the formation of holes or cavities in the tooth surface. In its early stages the damage can be reversed with the use of fluoride. Cavitation (a hole in the tooth) beyond the outer enamel covering of the tooth into the tissues can lead to a bacterial infection, which may cause considerable pain and require surgery or the removal of the tooth. Once the cavity has formed a filling is needed to restore the form and function of the tooth. Childhood caries is a serious public health problem in both developing and industrialised countries (Casamassimo et al. 2009).
At about the age of 5 or 6 years, children start losing their primary (deciduous/baby) teeth, which are replaced by their permanent teeth. Most children have lost all their primary teeth and have gained their permanent teeth (with the exception of wisdom teeth, which may erupt several years, or even decades, later) by the age of 12 years. Therefore, analyses of dental caries in adolescents only report the level of disease in permanent teeth. Younger children generally have a mixture of primary and permanent teeth, from ages 5 to 12 years. The convention is to report on these two sets of teeth separately.
Methods
Dental caries experience and other oral conditions were collected through oral epidemiological examinations. Didactic and clinical training for the examination teams was conducted. Frequent refresher sessions were also provided. Examinations were held in fixed or mobile dental clinics under standardised conditions.
7 - Australian children's oral health behaviours
-
- By JM Armfield, University of Adelaide, S Chrisopoulos, University of Adelaide, KG Peres, University of Adelaide, KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, AJ Spencer, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 178-211
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Patterns of toothbrushing practices
Brushing teeth with toothpaste is a widely adopted oral health behaviour in Australia (Slade et al. 2006). There is evidence that more than 90% of Australian children brush their teeth at least once a day (McLellan et al. 1999; Armfield & Spencer 2012) and that almost all children do so with a toothpaste containing fluoride (Armfield & Spencer 2012; Slade et al. 1995). Toothbrushes and fluoride toothpaste are readily available throughout the country and dental and other health authorities recommend brushing.
A great deal of evidence over a number of decades has found that regularly brushing children's teeth with fluoridated toothpaste reduces the risk of dental decay (Marinho et al. 2003a; Walsh et al. 2010). Toothbrushing not only removes plaque, which consists mostly of bacteria and is a risk factor for oral disease, but can be used to apply fluoride to the teeth via the application of toothpaste.
Australia's fluoride guidelines advise that brushing with fluoridated toothpaste commence from the age of 18 months (Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health 2012). Table 7-1 shows the percentages of children who indicated that they had commenced brushing their teeth before the age of 18 months, by both the child's current age and various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. The data are based on the recollection of the reporting parent, so parents of older children were having to recall the age of first brushing from further in their past than were parents of younger children. Overall, just over one-third of children commenced brushing with toothpaste before 18 months of age. There was little variation in reported early brushing commencement by child age at the time of the study.
Children were more likely to brush with toothpaste prior to 18 months if their parents were Australian born (36.0%) compared to those with an overseas-born parent (30.3%). In addition, the percentage of children brushing early was higher for those children whose parents had vocational (37.1%) or tertiary education (35.5%) than for those whose parents had no schooling beyond high school (29.2%). There was an income gradient in early-child toothbrushing. The lowest percentage was shown for children from the lowest household incomes (28.7%), followed by children from a medium household income (35.6%), with the highest percentage for children from families with a high household income (38.3%).
10 - Oral health status and behaviours of Indigenous Australian children
-
- By KF Roberts-Thomson, University of Adelaide, K Kapellas, University of Adelaide, DH Ha, University of Adelaide, LM Jamieson, University of Adelaide, P Arrow, University of Adelaide, LG Do, University of Adelaide
- Edited by Loc G. Do, University of Adelaide, A. John Spencer, University of Adelaide
-
- Book:
- Oral Health of Australian Children
- Published by:
- The University of Adelaide Press
- Published online:
- 05 September 2017
- Print publication:
- 31 December 2016, pp 264-287
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Chapter 10 compares the oral health and behaviours of various groupings within the population of Indigenous children. Differences are examined by sex, parental education, household income, residential location and reason for last dental visit.
Indigenous people in Australia have the poorest health outcomes. Indigenous children also have poorer health outcomes than their non-Indigenous counterparts (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2014). These have been related to social disadvantage. However, within the Indigenous population there is variation in social status. This chapter explores that social variation in relation to oral health status and oral health behaviours.
Indigenous identity data was collected using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) question ‘Are you of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?’ Responses that the child was ‘Yes, Aboriginal’, ‘Yes, Torres Strait Islander’ or Yes, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal’ meant the child was classified as Indigenous.
Oral health status of Indigenous children
Oral health status was measured using both the prevalence in the population and the average number of tooth surfaces with dental decay experience. This was categorised into the following elements: untreated decayed surfaces, missing surfaces due to decay and surfaces filled due to decay. Both the primary and secondary dentitions were examined and are reported separately.
In this chapter on the oral health of Indigenous children, the age groups on which data are reported differ from those in Chapter 5. This difference was due to the insufficient numbers of Indigenous children in the study to report on two-year age groups. For caries experience in the primary dentition the tables report on children aged 5–9 years and for the permanent dentition 9–14 years.
Caries experience in the primary dentition
Table 10-1 shows the average number of tooth surfaces with untreated decay, missing due to decay and filled surfaces and the average total number of affected surfaces (dmfs) by sociodemographic factors for Indigenous children aged 5–8 years. The average number of tooth surfaces decayed, missing or filled gives an indication of the severity of the disease, the burden it makes for the child and reflects access to timely dental care. Each tooth was divided into five surfaces and each surface decayed or filled was counted, but each missing tooth was counted as three surfaces.