[HEALTH NEWS]  The following statistics are from a recent Australian Dental Health Study conducted by APMI Partners in December 2017:

Regularity

− 65% of Australians haven’t visited the dentist in the last two years

− In the last 12 months, only 13% of the adult population had seen a dentist

Frequency

− 69% of Australians visit the dentist “only when they have a problem”

− 15% of the population don’t go to the dentist because they “don’t have the time”

− Only 26% of the population visit for a check up

Reasons behind dental visits

− 69% of the population visit a dentist for specific problems.

− 81% of young adults (18-25yrs) only go to the dentist when they have a problem.

Dental health / overall wellbeing

− Just over half (52%) of the population brush their teeth twice per day

− Nearly 40% of the population never use floss or other products to clean between their teeth each day

− Nearly 70% of Australians are unaware that medical conditions such as asthma and diabetes can impact their oral health

− 4 in 5 parents are unaware that the first dental visit should occur by the age of one.

The following statistics are from Australia’s Oral Health Tracker, conducted in March 2018:

Australian adults

− 47.8% of Adults are consuming too much sugar

− 51% of Adults brush their teeth twice daily

− 25.5% of adults have untreated tooth decay

− 9.9% of adults are decay-free

− 19.8% of Australians suffer from gum disease

− 1.6 per 100,000 people die due to oral cancer

− 16.2% of adults reported toothaches in the last 12 months

− 15.5% have severe tooth loss (fewer than 21 teeth)

Australia’s children and young people

− 68.5% of children (5-14yrs) brush teeth twice daily

− 70.3% of children (9-13yrs) are consuming too much sugar

− 34.3% of children (5-6yrs) have experienced decay in their primary teeth

− 27.1% of children (5-10yrs) have untreated tooth decay in their primary teeth

− 55.8% of children (5-6yrs) have had an early childhood dental visit before the age of five

− 73.1% of young people (14-18yrs) are consuming too much sugar

− 23.5% of young people (6-14yrs) have experienced decay in their permanent teeth

− 10.9% of young people have untreated tooth decay in their permanent teeth