Tooth decay in 5 year olds
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- in the 2021 to 2022 school year, 23.7% of 5 year olds in England had visually obvious tooth decay
- black (20.4%) children and white (20.5%) children were the least likely to have tooth decay out of all ethnic groups – lower than the national average
- children from the 'other' (44.8%) and Asian (37.7%) ethnic groups were the most likely to have tooth decay – higher than the national average
- children from the mixed ethnic group (22.4%) had levels of tooth decay similar to the national average
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of 5 year old children with signs of visually obvious tooth decay, by ethnicity.
The results are based on a survey taken during the 2021 to 2022 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 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
Ethnicity was not known for 3.8% of 5 year olds examined for the survey.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF) (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data on this page.
In the data file
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 | 2018/19 | 2021/22 |
|---|---|---|
| % | % | |
| All | 23.4 | 23.7 |
| Asian | 36.9 | 37.7 |
| Black | 23.2 | 20.4 |
| Mixed | 24.1 | 22.4 |
| White | 20.6 | 20.5 |
| Other | 44.3 | 44.8 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
4. Data sources
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.
Secondary source
Oral health survey of 5 year old children 2022
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
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, geography_code, gender, age, value, value_type, denominator, upper_95_c_i, lower_95_c_i