King
County
and
Seattle
children are significantly more likely to have lower rates of caries experience when compared to children in the state outside of
King
County
. Caries experience is defined as having treated and/or untreated decay.
King
County
and
Seattle
children also have significantly lower rates of treated decay (fillings) when compared to children in the rest of the state. The rates of untreated disease, rampant decay (caries experience on seven or more teeth), dental sealants (a preventive treatment to protect teeth from decay), and urgent treatment needs (abscesses and/or pain) do not show any statistically significant differences among the state,
King
County
and
Seattle
groups. (See Table One.
) Complete data tables are listed in the Appendix to this report.
Table One: Comparison of 2nd and 3rd grade Children’s Oral Health --
Washington
State
,
King
County
and
Seattle
|
Oral Health Measure
|
WA State
Outside of King County
(n=5531)
|
King County (n= 1758)
|
Seattle (n=1022)
|
|
% caries free (no treated or untreated)
|
40.1%
|
52.9%
|
54.1%
|
|
.
|
|
% with caries experience
|
59.5%
|
47.1%
|
45.9%
|
|
.
|
|
% with treated decay
|
51.7%
|
38.6%
|
36.3%
|
|
.
|
|
% with untreated decay
|
19.5%
|
17.0%
|
18.6%
|
|
.
|
|
% with rampant decay
|
20.5%
|
18.8%
|
12.9%
|
|
.
|
|
% with dental sealants
|
46.0%
|
40.9%
|
43.1%
|
|
.
|
|
% needing urgent treatment
|
2.9%
|
3.7%
|
2.1%
|
Three specific oral health goals from the national Healthy People 2010 objectives are:
21-1 Reducing the proportion of children who have dental caries experience to 42%
21-2 Reducing the prevalence of untreated tooth decay to 21%
21-8 Increasing the proportion of children who have dental sealants to 50%
Graph One: Smile Survey 2005 and Healthy People 2010 Goals
|
 |
 |
2005 Smile Survey results indicate that the second goal has been met in the state, King County and Seattle samples. The percentage of children with untreated tooth decay is lower in all three samples than the Healthy People 2010 goal. The Healthy People 2010 goals of reducing the proportion of children who have experienced decay and increasing the percentage of children with dental sealants were not met by any of the three samples.
(See Graph One.)
