The latest study that has been conducted in Australia shows that Australian children are far more prone to carries then children in any other part of the world. This is predominantly seen in teens and this has prompted the Australian government to go out and pay out millions of dollars to ensure the oral health of children in Australia.
This is a part of a multi-million dollar health funding package, the Australian Coalition has granted the University of Adelaide in South Australia AU$1.3 million (US$1.36 million) to examine the lack of oral health in children. The study will be conducted nationwide over four years and involve more than 30,000 children both inclusive of private and public schools.
Astonishingly, every year, over 20,000 children are admitted to hospitals for dental work in Australia. This is a considerably higher number compared to other countries like the UK, where slightly over 5,000 admissions were recorded in 2009. Researcher Professor John Spencer from the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, who will also lead the study, said that the study will go on to look at several factors. The predominant factors that are going to be looked at are how dental services for children are organized and delivered. This will also go on to compare these with outcomes of school dental services and private dentists.
The thing about public dental programmes like the school dental services are not reaching as many children as is expected. The challenges that lie ahead are to be able to identify and get rid of barriers to dental health services in Australia, improving service delivery, reducing risks and promoting healthy diets.