Children learn how to properly brush their teeth and prevent tooth decay at a kindergarten in Seoul on June 8, 2023, one day ahead of the Day of Teeth. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 23 (Korea Bizwire) — More than half of South Korean children have experienced cavities or received dental treatment for cavities, a survey showed Thursday.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) conducted a dental diagnosis and survey of 27,015 children aged 5 to 12 last year.
The findings revealed that 58.4 percent of 12-year-olds had cavities, indicating a 2 percentage point increase compared to the previous study conducted in 2018.
On average, each child had 1.94 cavities, reflecting a 0.1 increase from the previous study.
However, the percentage of children with untreated cavities at the time of the study decreased from 49.8 percent in 2003 to 6.9 percent last year.
Children from low-income environments (12.4 percent) were more prone to developing cavities compared to those from high-income environments (5.6 percent).
In terms of regional differences, children living in rural areas (10.1 percent) had a higher prevalence of cavities than those living in urban areas (6.7 percent).
The study was conducted during the pandemic, allowing the research team to examine the impact of the pandemic on dental care for children.
The percentage of 12-year-old children who reported brushing their teeth showed a gradual increase from 16.9 percent in 2006 to 33.3 percent in 2018, but experienced a significant decline to 15.2 percent in this study.
The KDCA explained that the prohibition of tooth brushing at school during the pandemic likely contributed to this decline.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
