Child Tooth Decay is on the Rise
One-third of preschoolers have never seen a dentist and most parents believe children do not need to see one before they’re three years old. Yet one-quarter of Australian children have tooth decay that requires filling by early primary school. One in ten require an extraction.
In the British Dental Journal, The number of children aged 5 to 9 who were admitted to hospital due to tooth decay has risen for the second consecutive year, according to official figures.
In the US: According to the largest government study of the nation’s dental health in more than 25 years, the prevalence of cavities in the baby teeth of children ages 2 to 5 rose to 28 percent between 1999 and 2004 — up 4 percentage points from the 24 percent rate seen in from 1988 to 1994.