IHS SURVEY CHILDREN AGED 1-5 YEARS

In 2010, the IHS implemented an ongoing oral health surveillance system designed to monitor trends in oral health among the AI/AN population served by IHS and Tribal programs. Since the implementation of the surveillance system, oral health data have been obtained from four different age cohorts: preschool children, elementary school children, adolescents, and adults. The data listed below represent the most recent data from each cohort.

When compared to the IHS Overall results for the 53 IHS/tribal service units that participated in both the 2010 and 2018-19 oral health surveys, the IHS OKC Area has seen a 45% reduction of the prevalence of ECC since 2010 and saw the lowest percentage of children with decay experience and untreated decay.

The 2018-2019 IHS Oral Health Survey Data Brief states that AI/AN children age 1-5 are three times more likely to have ECC than white children. More than half of AI/AN children between 1-5 years of age have early childhood caries.7 *U.S. data comes from NHANES 2013-2016 for decay experience and untreated decay for children aged 3-5 years, and NHANES 2011-2012 for dental sealants for children aged 3-5 years.