U.K. oral health survey finds improvement

Dec 7, 2010

A greater percentage of adults in Wales have dental problems than in England, despite more of the Welsh population seeing a dentist regularly, according to the largest adult dental health survey conducted in the region in the last 10 years.

Although dental health has improved overall in Wales, England, and Northern Ireland, a greater percentage of the Welsh population have no natural teeth, not enough teeth to eat comfortably, and a greater degree of decay, according to the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey, released December 8 by the National Health Service Information Centre (NHS IC).

The survey, which has taken place every decade since 1968, was commissioned by the NHS IC and carried out between October 2009 and April 2010 by a consortium managed by the Office for National Statistics. More than 11,300 individuals were interviewed and 6,469 adults examined.

Preliminary results show that among adults age 16 and older:

One in 10 in Wales has no natural teeth, compared with around one-third in 1978.
In England, the equivalent 2009 figure is around one in 17, compared with three in 10 in 1978.
In Northern Ireland, the 2009 figure is around one in 14, compared with one-third in 1978.
80% in Wales have the accepted number of teeth required to eat comfortably compared with 71% in 1978.
In England, the equivalent 2009 figure is 86%, compared with 74% in 1978.
In Northern Ireland, the 2009 figure is 84%, compared with 68% in 1979.
Nearly seven in 10 adults in Wales have regular dental checkups, compared with just under four in 10 in 1978.
In England and Northern Ireland, the 2009 figure is about six in 10 adults, compared with around four in 10 in England in 1978 and four in 10 in Northern Ireland in 1988 (the first time this figure was collected in Northern Ireland).

The survey also shows that across all three countries, people from managerial and professional households have a better level of oral health; 91% have 21 or more natural teeth compared with 85% from intermediate occupation households and 79% from routine and manual occupation households.

The findings also suggest that more than one in 10 of those surveyed are extremely anxious about being in the dentists' chair, with 12% of adults who have ever been to the dentist having extreme anxiety about the situation. This is most common among younger age groups, women, and people from households at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale.

"This survey shows dental health has improved in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland and the condition of people's teeth overall has got much better since this survey was first carried out," said NHS IC Chief Executive Tim Straughan in a press release. "However it does show there is variation in dental health between England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as in the percentage of our populations who see a dentist regularly."

A series of more detailed reports are due to be published in March 2011.