Adult Dental Health Survey - 2009, First Release

This release presents some preliminary results from the 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey, covering Northern Ireland, England and Wales. A series of more detailed reports are due to be published in March 2011.

The 2009 Adult Dental Health Survey (ADHS) is the fifth in a series of national dental surveys that have been carried out every ten years since 1968.

The 2009 survey was commissioned by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care and was conducted on behalf of the Department of Health in England, the Welsh Assembly Health Department, and the Department of Health and Personal Social Services in Northern Ireland. The survey was carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only: Scotland decided not to participate in the 2009 survey.

The survey consisted of a questionnaire interview with all adults aged over 16 years at all sampled households, and an oral examination of the mouth and teeth of all those adults who had at least one natural tooth. The survey was managed by the Office for National Statistics working in consortium with the National Centre for Social Research, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, and dental experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Cardiff, Dundee, Newcastle, and University College London.

The sample size for the survey was 13,400 households (1,150 in each English Strategic Health Authority and Wales, and 750 households in Northern Ireland). Data collection for the survey took place between October 2009 and April 2010, and the final household interview response rate was 60 per cent.

A total of 11,380 individuals were interviewed, and 6,469 dentate adults were examined, making this the largest ever epidemiological survey of adult dental health in the United Kingdom.