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About half of Australian children between ages six and 12 have some type of tooth decay.
The information comes from a report called “Dental Decay Among Australian Children.” The study was done by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Dr. Stuart Gairns, the chief executive of the Australian Dental Association, blamed the high rates of decay on the change in diets of most children, which now includes many drinks filled with sugar. Energy drinks and cans of soda are some of the most popular drinks among children, which is why the decay rates are so high.
More children also need access to fluoridated water to prevent some of the decay. The problem with that is many don’t have access to the amount of fluoridated water they need. With more fluoride, it’s possible the children would have stronger teeth and would hold up better against sugar.
Many parents don’t know their children have decay. The reason is there is much more sugar present in a child’s diet, and, combined with less fluoride, makes for a devastating combination to the teeth.
To help solve this large amount of decay, parents and children need to be better educated about tooth decay and what causes it. Then, with better hygiene, the numbers would decrease. It would also be beneficial to children to add more routine dental visits than they currently have.
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