The revival of water fluoridation in the state of New South Wales, Australia, in the 21st century

Sivaneswaran, Shanti

doi:10.1111/j.1600-0528.2012.00722.x

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

(15 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The most recent NSW data with adequate sample size and adjustment for under-estimating DMFT were collected in 2000 [ 21 ] and reported a mean score of 1.1 for 14-year-olds, which was similar to the mean DMFT of 1.2 for 14- and 15-year-olds in this 2010 survey, a decade later. The DMFT score has been stable in New South Wales over the last ten years and this may be due in part to the increased coverage of water fluoridation in the State over this time period [ 22 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental caries in 14- and 15-year-olds in New South Wales, Australia

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundDental caries remains one of the most common chronic diseases of adolescents. In Australia there have been few epidemiological studies of the caries experience of adolescents with most surveys focusing on children. The New South Wales (NSW) Teen Dental Survey 2010 is the second major survey undertaken by the Centre for Oral Health Strategy. The survey is part of a more systematic and efficient approach to support State and Local Health District dental service planning and will also be used for National reporting purposes.MethodsData for the NSW Teen Dental Survey were collected in 2010 from a random sample of Year 9 secondary school students aged 14 to 15 years from metropolitan and non-metropolitan schools under the jurisdiction of the NSW Department of Education and Training, the Catholic Education Commission and Independent Schools in New South Wales. Nineteen calibrated examiners performed 1269 clinical examinations at a total of 84 secondary schools across NSW. The survey was accompanied by a questionnaire looking at oral health related behaviours, risk factors and the usage of the Medicare Teen Dental Plan.Results175 schools were contacted, with 84 (48%) accepting the invitation to participate in the study. A total of 5,357 student consent forms and parent information packages were sent out and 1,256 students were examined; leading to a student participation rate of 23%. The survey reported a mean DMFT for 14 and 15 year olds of 1.2 and it was identified that 45.4% of students had an experience of dental caries. Major variations in caries experience reported occurred by remoteness, water fluoridation status, socio-economic status and household income levels.ConclusionsThe NSW Teen Dental Survey provided state-wide data that will contribute to the national picture on adolescent oral health. The mean DMFT score of 1.2 is similar to the national caries experience data for this age group from the Australian Child Dental Health Survey in 2009.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental caries in 14- and 15-year-olds in New South Wales, Australia

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The first water fluoridation scheme in NSW was opened in Yass in 1956 followed by Tamworth in 1963 and the City of Sydney. By June 2010 approximately ninety four per cent of the NSW population had access to fluoridated water [ 4 , 5 ] and epidemiological surveys have charted a dramatic decline in the prevalence of dental caries in NSW over the last 50 years [ 6 – 8 ]. However the addition of new communities having fluoridated water has slowed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dental Health of primary school children living in fluoridated, pre-fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities in New South Wales, Australia

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe Local Government Area of Gosford implemented a water fluoridation scheme in 2008. Therefore the opportunity was taken to record the dental health of primary school children aged 5–7 years prior to the fluoridation and compare the results with other communities in NSW with different access to fluoridated water. The aim was to compare the oral health of New South Wales (Australia)s 5–7 year olds living in fluoridated, and non- fluoridated communities. One of the areas was due to implement water fluoridation and is termed the pre-fluoridation site.MethodsPupils in the first year of Public and Catholic Schools in three areas of NSW were recruited. Class lists were used to draw a sample of approximately 900 per area. This number allowed for a non-response rate of up to 30 per cent and would give a sample sufficient numbers to allow statistical inferences to be drawn. Children whose parents consented received a dental examination and the clinical data was collected on mark sense cards.ResultsIn the 3 areas the proportion of children who received a dental examination varied; 77.5% (n = 825) for the fluoridated area, 80.1% (n = 781) for the pre-fluoridated area and 55.3% (n = 523) for the non-fluoridated area. The mean dmft was 1.40 for the fluoridated area, 2.02 for the pre-fluoridated area and 2.09 for the non-fluoridated area. These differences were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Differences were also noted in the proportion of children who were caries free, 62.6% fluoridated area, 50.8% for the pre-fluoride area and 48.6% for the non-fluoride location.ConclusionThe children living in the well-established fluoridated area had less dental caries and a higher proportion free from disease when compared with the other two areas which were not fluoridated. Fluoridation demonstrated a clear benefit in terms of better oral health for young children.

show abstract

“…The following case studies describe three NSW initiatives that illustrate oral health promotion in action. These initiatives add value to existing prevention programs, such as water fluoridationa cost-effective measure for reducing dental caries 10 that reaches 96% of the Australian population 11 and one of the few public health interventions that reduces disparities in oral health between socioeconomic groups 12 -and the Early Childhood Oral Health Program, 13 which aims to improve the health and wellbeing of children in NSW by integrating oral health into general health interventions provided by child health professionals.…”

Section: Oral Health 2020: a Strategic Framework For Dentalmentioning

confidence: 99%