The 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey, which examined the teeth of 6,500 adults from England, Northern Ireland and Wales, shows that adults with visible decay has fallen by a fifth since 1998.
The research which has been running since 1968 and takes place every ten years, was carried out by a consortium led by the Office for National Statistics, to find out how healthy the publics teeth really are and also peoples perceptions and attitude towards dental hygiene.
The survey found that the proportion of adults who had no natural teeth has also fallen by almost a quarter in England and by a third in Northern Ireland and Wales over the past thirty years.
Dr Nigel Carter, CEO of the British Health Foundation, was impressed by the results and said that the survey indicated that people, now more than ever, care about their teeth.
“These latest figures confirm the progress which has been made in regards to the improving standards of oral health here in the UK. We have suspected this to be true for a while now and it is certainly pleasing to finally see this indeed to be the case.”
Dr Carter also noted that the new statistics derived from the survey, come as no surprise. He believes that the constant influx of new ideas, improved techniques and the advancement of materials appears to be evolving at pace.
However, despite the positive results, he also pointed out that there was still scope for improvements to be made to ensure more people go for regular check ups.
Avoiding the Dentist?
The survey also highlighted that one of the reasons why people are reluctant to visit the dentist, is because they suffer from “extreme dental anxiety”. Nearly one in five women and one in ten men, feel anxious before they even sit in the dentist chair, and hence avoid check ups.
Dr Carter points out that avoiding the dentist can actually cause further problems down the line, “The 27 percent who claimed to only visit their dentist when they experienced a problem with their mouths could have prevented potentially problematic treatments and unnecessary financial expense by attending regular dental check-ups."
"Dental techniques have improved so much over the last few years, and modern dental treatment can now be completely painless”. So people should be not be deterred or feel worried.
"Keeping our teeth healthy and cleaning twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, cutting down on how often we have sugary foods and drinks can help us smile with confidence, but more importantly has overall health benefits. The links between oral health problems such as gum disease and conditions like heart disease, strokes, diabetes and in the case of pregnant women, low birth weight babies, for instance, has all been well documented and is backed by robust scientific evidence" pointed out Dr Carter.
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