The Scottish Government

Title

Percentage of school children in primary 1 with no tooth decay.

National Indicator/Target

60% of primary 1 children will have no signs of dental disease by 2010.

Brief Description

Monitors dental health in 5 year old children. This provides indication of the success of school and pre-school dental programmes, and is also seen as a wider indicator of good early years care.

Strategic Objective(s) to Which Indicator Relates

This indicator informs progress in relation to the Healthier and Smarter Strategic Objectives.

More Detailed Definitions

Definitions of Keywords

Children in P1 in Local Authority schools.

Tooth decay - obvious decay experience, i.e. decay that can be seen to go into the dentine or pulp of the tooth, or filled or extracted teeth.

Evidence Source

National Dental Inspection Programme ( NDIP) since 2003.

Direct measure based on detailed inspection of sample of children. Data are available for Scotland and NHS board. Lower level of geography (Community Health Partnership / Local Authority / school) is available from the basic inspection, and can be used to target improvement programmes.

Baseline and Past Trends

Baseline year will be the 2006 inspections, when 54% of P1 children had no evidence of dental caries. Trend shows improvement in recent years.

Chart: Trends over time in the proportion of P1 (5 year olds) children with no obvious decay experience school years 1987/88-2005/06

Source: Scottish Health Board's Dental Epidemiological Programme (1997/98 - 1999/00)
National Dental Inspection Programme (2002/03 - 2005/06)

Prior to 2003, the data source was the Scottish Health Boards' Dental Epidemiological Programme ( SHBDEP) 1987-2001. This had a smaller sample size than the current survey, but was also based around standard oral examinations.

Methodology

Around 20% of the population of P1 children in Local Authority funded schools receive a detailed inspection every second year and the majority receive a basic inspection every year. The figures for the target are based on the detailed inspection.

Data Ownership and Quality Assurance

This programme of surveys is managed by the Scottish Dental Epidemiology Co-ordinating Committee ( SDECC). It is undertaken under the auspices of the Committee of Chief Administrative Dental Officers/Consultants in Dental Public Health Group ( CADO/ CDPH Scotland Group).

Publication of Data

A report is published annually at

http://www.scottishdental.org/dentalinspection.htm

The report for 2006 was published in February 2007. P1 children receive detailed inspections every second year, with P7s inspected in the alternate years. Therefore the estimate for the target is produced biennially.