The caries experience of 5 year old children in Scotland, Wales and England in 2007 - 2008 and the impact of consent arrangements. Reports of co-ordinated surveys using BASCD criteria.

Davies, GM; Jones, CM; Monaghan, N; Morgan, M; Pine, C; Pitts, N; Neville, JS; Rooney, E

Abstract

This paper brings together summarised findings and comment on surveys of young children undertaken in Scotland, Wales and
England in 2007-08. These surveys are the latest in a series using common criteria for measurement but changes in the consent arrangements
for Wales and England mean that these datasets are no longer directly comparable with Scottish data. Method: Representative
samples were drawn within the geographies of primary care organisations in the three countries, and in England within Local Authorities
also, according to BASCD criteria. Consent was sought in three different ways. Children aged five were examined in England and those
in Primary 1 (rising 6) were examined in Wales and Scotland. Examinations were conducted in schools by trained and calibrated examiners
and caries was diagnosed at the dentinal threshold using visual criteria. Results: The impact of seeking positive consent appeared to depress
the caries severity and prevalence in Wales and England whilst the reduced caries levels in Scotland may be attributed to the pro-active
health improvement measures affecting this cohort. The results for positive consent suggest bias towards participation of children with
lower levels of tooth decay. Conclusion: Caries prevalence surveys of children at the start of formal education have been conducted in
Great Britain. Those carried out with the need for positive parental consent have produced new baseline data. Data presented after 2007-08
should be annotated to show the participation rate and the inappropriateness of comparing data collected using different types of consent.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2011
• Deposit Date: May 8, 2012
• Journal: Community Dental Health
• Print ISSN: 0265-539X
• Publisher: Dennis Barber
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 5-11
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1922/CDH_2765Davies07
• Publisher URL: http://www.cdhjournal.org/