Tooth decay in 5 year olds
Published
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1. Main facts and figures
- in the 2018 to 2019 school year, 23.4% of 5 year olds in England had visible tooth decay
- White children were least likely to have visible tooth decay (20.6%) out of all ethnic groups
- children from the Other (44.3%) and Asian (36.9%) ethnic groups were most likely to have visible tooth decay
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of 5 year old children with signs of visible tooth decay, by ethnicity.
The results are based on a survey taken during the 2018 to 2019 school year where trained dental examiners did visual-only examinations to look for signs of tooth decay.
The data only includes children at mainstream state-funded primary schools.
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place.
The ethnic categories used in this data
Data is shown for 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed
- White
- Other
This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of people surveyed was too small to make any reliable conclusions about any of the 18 ethnic groups.
Ethnicity was not known for 7.3% of 5 year olds. Children whose ethnicity was not known are included in the figures for ‘All’ in the data.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data on this page.
Data for children from the Chinese ethnic group is no longer shown separately – it is now included in the ‘Asian’ ethnic group. Because of this, the latest data is not comparable with data from previous years.
In the data file
See Download the data for:
- confidence intervals for each ethnic group – find out more about how confidence intervals are used to determine how reliable estimates are
- the unweighted number of children who were examined
- unrounded percentages
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % |
|---|---|
| All | 23.4 |
| Asian | 36.9 |
| Black | 23.2 |
| Mixed | 24.1 |
| White | 20.6 |
| Other | 44.3 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Tooth decay in 5 year olds By ethnicity Summary
The data shows that, in the 2018 to 2019 school year:
-
23.4% of 5 year olds in England had visible tooth decay
-
White children were least likely to have visible tooth decay (20.6%)
-
children from the Other (44.3%) and Asian (36.9%) ethnic groups were most likely to have visible tooth decay
-
children from the Black (23.3%) and Mixed (24.1%) ethnic groups had levels of tooth decay similar to the national average
4. Data sources
Source
Oral health survey of 5 year old children 2019
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Public Health England
Publication frequency
Every 2 years
Purpose of data source
The aim of the survey is to measure how common and severe tooth decay is among 5 year olds. This can help local authorities prioritise oral health initiatives to help reduce tooth decay.
Secondary source
Public Health Outcomes Framework: 5 year olds with experience of visually obvious dental decay
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Office for Health Improvement and Disparities
Publication frequency
Every 2 years
Purpose of data source
The aim of the survey is to measure how common and severe tooth decay is among 5 year olds. This can help local authorities prioritise oral health initiatives to help reduce tooth decay.
5. Download the data
Measure, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Time, Time_type, Geography, Geography_type, Geography_code, Gender, Age, Value, Value_type, Denominator, Lower 95% C.I., Upper 95% C.I.