Children’s dental health is improving rapidly

The number of children with healthy teeth, i.e. no cavities, has been on a steady rise in recent years.

In 1991, 29 percent of five-year-olds had healthy baby teeth. Last year, this figure had reached 77 percent.

Among the seven-year-olds, only 9 percent had healthy baby teeth in 1991. By 2021, this figure had reached 64 percent. About 62 percent of the seven-year-olds had healthy permanent teeth in 1991. This percentage reached 95 in 2021.

Increase in dental diseases

The percentage of 12-year-olds with healthy teeth increased from 12 in 1991 to 71 in 2021. Among the 15-year-olds, only 4 percent had healthy teeth in1991, increasing to 50 percent in 2021.

These figures are published in a report by the Dentists’ Association, which recommends that dentists start registering dental diseases.

This recommendation comes on the back of an increase in tooth erosion caused by acid exposure from soft drinks and an increase in gum disease caused by snuff use.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

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