Tooth decay in children
3 in 5
15 year olds had tooth decay in their permanent teeth
In 2006, the proportion of children who visited a school dental service with decayed, missing or filled teeth varied from about 41% for 5 year olds to 67% for 8 year olds.
Average numbers of decayed, missing or filled teeth vary depending on age and reflect the changing mix of baby and permanent teeth present at any age. Four year olds had an average of 1.94 decayed, missing or filled baby teeth, while 6 year olds had an average of 2.47 and 10 year olds had an average of 1.24. The smaller number of cavities in the 10 year olds was due to their having fewer baby teeth.
Five year olds had an average of 0.03 decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth, while 9 year olds had 0.49 and 15 year olds had 2.01. This is due to both the number of permanent teeth older children have, and the increased time that their teeth are at risk of decay.
The average DMFT score for the 15–24 age group was 3.17 (mostly for fillings); while those 65 and over had an average of 23.70 teeth affected (mostly missing teeth).
Tooth decay in adults
3 in 10
adults aged 25-44 had untreated tooth decay
More men had untreated decay than women (28.2% compared to 22.7%). Men also tended to have more decayed teeth than women (0.7 compared to 0.51), while women had more fillings than men (8.14 for women compared to 7.24 for men).
People living in Inner regional areas had the highest average DMFT at 14.75. Fillings contributed the most to DMFT scores in all remoteness areas. People in inner regional areas had the highest average number of teeth missing due to decay. The proportion of people with untreated decay increased with remoteness, from 23.5% in Major cities to 37.6% in Remote/Very remote areas.
People in higher income households generally have a lower rate of untreated decay and periodontal disease, as well as fewer missing teeth, than those in lower income households. The proportion of people with untreated decay was highest for those with household income of less than $12,000 per year, and the lowest where household income was $100,000 or more.
A higher proportion of uninsured people (31.1%) than insured people (19.4%) had untreated decay. Insured people had a higher overall DMFT due mostly to a higher number of fillings.
Gum disease
Periodontal disease (gum disease or periodontitis) is the inflammation of tissues surrounding the tooth. It affects the gum, ligaments and the bone, and is caused by bacterial infection. In severe cases teeth may become loose and even fall out. In advanced stages, ‘pockets’ can form between the gum and the tooth. Deep pockets indicate severe destruction from the disease.
Adults are at higher risk of periodontal disease as they get older. In 2004–2006, 2.7% of people aged 15–24 had periodontal disease, compared to 53.4% aged 65 and over. More than one-quarter of men (26.8%) suffered periodontal disease, compared to less than one-fifth (19.0%) of women.
People on lower household incomes consistently had more gum disease than those on higher incomes, varying from 42.3% for those earning less than $12,000 per year to 14.3% for those on $100,000 or more.
People in more remote areas had higher rates—36.3% had periodontal disease in Remote/Very remote areas compared to 22.1% in Major cities.
A lower proportion of insured (19.4%) than uninsured (27.0%) people had periodontal disease.
Missing teeth
The rate of edentulism (loss of all natural teeth) increases in adults as they get older. In 2010, the proportion of people aged 45–64 without any natural teeth was 5.5%, compared to 21.1% for those 65 and over. Across age groups, the average number of missing teeth varied from 2.2 teeth for people aged 15–24 to 11.9 teeth for those aged 65 and over. The proportion of dentate (still with some natural teeth) people who wore dentures ranged from 0.9% for those aged 15–24 to 47.4% for those aged 65 and over.
On average women lost more teeth than men (5.7 and 4.8 teeth, respectively), and more women than men also lost all their teeth (6.4% compared to 4.1%).
People on lower household incomes generally lost more teeth than those on higher incomes. Adults in the lowest four household income categories had between 6.7 and 10.3 missing teeth, more than those in higher household income groups (4.4 to 5.6 missing teeth).
Overall, adults without insurance lost more teeth than those with some level of insurance (6.2 compared to 4.7 missing teeth, respectively).
Across remoteness areas, adults in Major cities without dental insurance lost more teeth than those with insurance (5.8 and 4.4 teeth, respectively).
Toothache
1 in 5
adults had a toothache in the last year
In 2010, 17.1% of adults aged 25–44 reported that they had experienced toothache in the previous 12 months, compared to 10.1% of those aged 65 and over.
The proportion of adults who reported they had felt uncomfortable about their dental appearance in the previous 12 months varied depending on age, ranging from 18.7% for those aged 15–24 to 28.8% for those aged 45–64.
The proportion of adults who avoided eating certain foods because of problems with their teeth, ranged from 12.2% for people aged 15–24 to 20.9% for those aged 45–64. Adults with some natural teeth were less likely to avoid certain foods than those with no natural teeth (16.5% and 30.6%, respectively).
Further information
See chapters 1 and 2 in Oral health and dental care in Australia: key facts and figures 2011