An assessment of dental caries among young Aboriginal children in New South Wales, Australia: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundLimited research has been undertaken in Australia to assess the dental status of pre-school Aboriginal children. This cross-sectional study records the number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) and surfaces (dmfs) of pre-school Aboriginal children living in different locations in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.MethodsA convenience sample of young children from seven Aboriginal communities in rural, remote and metropolitan areas of NSW, was recruited. One calibrated examiner recorded the dmft/s of children with written parental consent.Results196 children were invited to participate and 173 children aged two to five years were examined, a response rate of 88.3 %. Forty percent (n = 69) of the children were diagnosed with dental caries with a mean of 2.1 (SD = 3.6). The dmft scores were significantly higher in remote locations when compared to rural (p = <0.0001) and metropolitan areas (p = 0.0155). Children 4–5 years old living in remote NSW had a mean dmft of 3.5 and mean dmfs of 8.0 compared with children living in rural areas who had a dmft and dmfs of 1.5 and 4.2 respectively. Untreated dental caries was the primary contributor to the scores, and children who had previously received dental treatment still had active carious lesions.ConclusionThere was a high prevalence of untreated dental caries among the Aboriginal children, particularly for those in remote locations.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2673-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The oral health behaviours and fluid consumption practices of young urban Aboriginal preschool children in south‐western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

“…There is also no available population data on the prevalence rates of ECC among preschool Aboriginal children in NSW . The only comparable research has shown that nearly half the Aboriginal children under 6 years across rural and metropolitan NSW had dental caries . This suggests that there may be a disconnect among Aboriginal parents in this study regarding their perceived oral health concerns about the child and actual issues.…”

“…The Gudaga study describes the oral health behaviours and fluid consumption practices of young urban Aboriginal children of the Tharawal community in south‐western Sydney. Although the study data presented are slightly dated (2007‐2012), the findings provide a valuable contribution in this area as there is currently limited information on the oral health practices of urban Aboriginal children in Australia, particularly for the early childhood period . Most of the published literature on Aboriginal children under 5 years of age focuses on their uptake of dental services and hospitalisation rates for dental procedures during this period …”

“…These figures are lower than the population data for all children in NSW where usage of dental services was 14% for 2‐ to 3‐year‐olds and 54% for 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds . Although dental service access during the early childhood period (2‐3 years) has been consistently poor across all communities in Australia, the low uptake among Aboriginal children is concerning as they have significantly higher rates (twice the levels) of dental caries compared to their non‐Aboriginal counterparts . What is more concerning is the extremely low attendance rates at 2 years (5%) especially as all children are recommended to receive a dental check up by this age .…”

“…Without regular oral assessments early childhood caries can develop prior to 2 years and lead to a negative impact on the health and well‐being of the child . Generally, Aboriginal children in urban areas have lower caries rates than those in rural settings due to improved access to fluoridated water and affordable dental services . However, the study findings here suggest that there may be other barriers facing urban children regarding their oral health that need to be explored to promote early childhood oral health and improve dental service uptake.…”

“…A recent cross sectional study has tried to address this gap by assessing the oral health of 196 children aged 4‐5 years across rural, remote and metropolitan NSW. The study found a high prevalence of untreated dental caries among Aboriginal children, especially from the remote locations . More research exploring the oral health practices of Aboriginal children aged 0‐5 years in NSW is required to identify suitable strategies to improve oral health in the early years.…”