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Summary: Oral health in South Australia 2008 provides a comprehensive summary of the oral health of South Australian residents. This publication was developed from a range of surveys conducted by the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) and administrative data provided by state dental services. Information provided in this publication includes data on caries experience and periodontal diseases of children and adults, tooth retention and loss among adults, access to dental care, cost of dental care and the dental labour force. Information on the oral health of Indigenous children and adults is also provided. The publication highlights the recent increase in the level of dental decay among primary and secondary school children, the low percentage of school aged children visiting the school dental service, the extent of individual out-of-pocket expenditure on dental services, and issues with access to dentists and dental hygienists outside of the Adelaide metropolitan area.

This volume is about an ongoing long-term research initiative led by researchers from the School of Dentistry at the University of Adelaide. The aim of this book is to provide an overview of the studies of the teeth and faces of Australian twins and their families that have extended over more than thirty years.

Oral health in South Australia 2008 provides a comprehensive summary of the oral health of South Australian residents. This publication was developed from a range of surveys conducted by the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH) and administrative data provided by state dental services. Information provided in this publication includes data on caries experience and periodontal diseases of children and adults, tooth retention and loss among adults, access to dental care, cost of dental care and the dental labour force. Information on the oral health of Indigenous children and adults is also provided. The publication highlights the recent increase in the level of dental decay among primary and secondary school children, the low percentage of school aged children visiting the school dental service, the extent of individual out-of-pocket expenditure on dental services, and issues with access to dentists and dental hygienists outside of the Adelaide metropolitan area.

"This collaborative work provides a detailed snapshot of child oral health in Australia. In doing so, it describes the levels of dental caries and its components, dental fluorosis and other oral health conditions and how they vary by social characteristics. It also describes protective factors such as toothbrushing, the use of fluoridated toothpastes and making dental visits. The 2012–14 National Child Oral Health Survey (NCOHS) was a cross-sectional study of the child population aged 5 to 14 years in Australia. A total of 24,664 children from 841 participating schools completed the study. The study sample was selected in a complex multistage, stratified sampling design. Sophisticated weighting procedure was employed to adjust for variations in probabilities of selection and response rates. Therefore, this report presents estimates as representative of child oral health in Australia. Information was collected via a parental questionnaire and a detailed dental examination by trained dental professionals. Despite some improvement, child oral health has remained a significant population health issue in Australia in the 21st Century. The evidence described in this book has pointed to substantial social patterning of oral health status, dental service use and dental and general health behaviours among Australian children. The identification of the numerous factors and the relation between them at an individual child, family, school and community level poses both difficulties and opportunities for programs to make improvements to and reduce social inequalities in child oral health."