SA kids have great teeth
Health Minister John Hill has welcomed a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showing that South Australian children have the lowest rates of dental decay in Australia and dental health that’s amongst the best in the world.
The Child Dental Health Survey, Australia 2003-2004, highlights that children aged 12 seen through the South Australian School Dental Service have the lowest rate of teeth that are decayed, missing or filled.
Dr Martin Dooland, the executive director of SA Dental Service, says “In 2003/04 the average 12 year-old in South Australia had experienced dental decay in only 0.82 adult teeth, this is 20% better than the national figure of 1.03 teeth with decay.
“Not only do South Australian children develop less decay than children in other states, because of the excellent care provided by dental therapists through the School Dental Service, less of this dental decay is left untreated.
This high quality dental care is available to all children up to 18 years of age throughout the state from the metro area to remote SA.
“I constantly receive compliments from my interstate and international colleagues about our dental therapist based School Dental Service,” Dr Dooland says.
The School Dental Service currently has 130 dental therapists working in over 50 dental clinics across the State providing valuable dental health education, preventive services, fillings and extractions.
The School Dental Service has been proactive in dealing with a national increase in dental decay by applying fluoride and using resin ‘fissure sealants’ to protect the grooves and pits in teeth that are more prone to decay.
There have also been changes in dental health recommendations such as primary school children using normal fluoride toothpaste rather than the low fluoride toothpaste recommended for preschoolers.
