William Atkins
Sunday, 10 January 2010 20:42
Science -
Health
Page 1 of 3
According to U.S. and Australian reports, tooth decay in children is widespread. An Australian health leader calls it an epidemic and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that 25% of all children in the United States two to five years of age have tooth decay. A bitingly informative article follows!
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (
CDC) states,
“Oral health is often taken for granted, but is an essential part of our everyday lives. Good oral health enhances our ability to speak, smile, and kiss; smell, taste, touch, chew, and swallow; and convey a world of feelings and emotions through facial expressions.”
The CDC adds,
“However, mouth and throat diseases, which range from cavities to oral cancer, cause pain and disability for millions of Americans each year.”
Its report “
Oral Health: Preventing Cavities, Gum Disease, and Tooth Loss: At A Glance 2009,” reveals these facts about tooth decay in the United States:
• Tooth decay affects more than one-fourth of U.S. children aged 2–5 and half of those aged 12–15.
• About half of all children and two-thirds of children aged 12–19 from low income families have had decay.
• Children and adolescents of some racial and ethnic groups and those of lower income experience more untreated decay. For example, 40% of Mexican-American children aged 6–8 have untreated decay, compared with 25% of non-Hispanic whites.
• Twenty percent of all adolescents 12–19 years currently have untreated tooth decay.
• Advanced gum disease affects 4%–12% of adults.
• Half of the cases of severe gum disease in the U.S. are the result of cigarette smoking. Three times as many smokers as people who have never smoked have gum disease.
• One-fourth of adults aged 65 and older have lost all of their teeth.
• More than 7,000 people, mostly older Americans, die from oral and pharyngeal cancers each year. This year, about 30,000 new cases of oral cancer will be diagnosed.
Please read this very informative (before-mentioned)
U.S. article on the CDC website.
Page two talks about tooth decay reports in Australian children.
