Despite the fact that dental disease is largely preventable, large numbers of local children are showing tooth decay. To learn more about decay, prevention and the health unit's dental program, please visit health facts on the health unit's website and look for dental health.

Decay rates from the Dental Indices Survey conducted from 2005-2007 were compared across most of Ontario's 36 health unit areas. Consistently, the oral health of 5, 7, 9, and 13 year olds in Simcoe and Muskoka ranked in the bottom 15-30% of surveyed health units. Moreover, the Ontario health unit areas with higher decay rates were primarily northern or more rural regions.

Table 1 shows the high rates of tooth decay in Simcoe Muskoka compared to the other surveyed health units.

Table 1:

The four charts below show the trends in oral health over time in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from the Dental Indices Survey (DIS) and a survey conducted by the Ontario Association for Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD). As explained on the DIS and OAPHD pages, there are multiple years for which Ontario are not available.

Figure 1 shows the average number of teeth that are decayed, filled or extracted (due to cavities) in five-year-old children in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario. Decay rates in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario decreased between 1979/80 and 1987/88 but have since increased significantly. Simcoe Muskoka rates have consistently been higher than the provincial average. The health unit is examining the factors that may be linked to the poor oral health of Simcoe Muskoka children.

Figure 1:

Thirteen year olds tend to fare better than five year olds. This may be because by this age, they have lost all of their baby teeth and most of their permanent teeth have not been in place for long. Figure 2 shows the average number of teeth that are decayed, filled or extracted (due to cavities) in thirteen year old children in Simcoe Muksoka and Ontario. Decay rates in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario decreased significantly between 1979/80 and 1989/90, and have since remained relatively stable. Similar to the five year olds, the thirteen year olds in Simcoe Muskoka have consistently higher decay rates than Ontario.

Figure 2:

Figure 3 shows the percentage of five year old children with zero cavities in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 1984/85 to 2007/08. This percentage has remained relatively constant between 65% and 69% in Ontario since 1984/85. The percentage in Simcoe Muskoka has varied between 59%-70% during this time period but has been at the bottom of that range in recent years. The Simcoe Muskoka percentage was lower than the provincial percentage for the two most recent years that provincial data were compiled.

Figure 3:

Figure 4 shows the percentage of thirteen year old children with zero cavities in Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario from 1984/85 to 2007/08. The Simcoe Muskoka percentage and the Ontario percentage both increased between 1984/85 and 1993/94. Since 1993/94, the Simcoe Muskoka percentage has remained relatively constant between 47% and 52%. Similar to the five year olds, the percentage of cavity-free thirteen year old children in Simoce Muskoka has been lower than the Ontario percentage in recent years.

Figure 4: