Adult Dental Health Survey, 1998

The <i>Adult Dental Health Survey</i> (ADHS) is carried out every ten years, and investigates people's dental health, their experiences of dental care and their access to dental services. The survey results provide important information about the dental health of the nation. This information helps health authorities to effectively plan local dental services and shows the extent to which government dental health targets are being met. The results from the different surveys can be compared to allow changes over time to be understood.<br>
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The first survey was conducted in 1968 in England and Wales. Similar surveys were also conducted in Scotland in 1972 and in Northern Ireland in 1979. The second ADHS was conducted in England and Wales in 1978. None of these earlier surveys are available from the UK Data Archive. The third survey was conducted in 1988 and was extended to include adults in Scotland and Northern Ireland providing estimates for the whole of the United Kingdom (available from the Archive under SN 2834). The fourth was conducted in 1998 (available under SN 4226) and also covered the whole of the UK. The latest survey in the series took place in 2009 and was carried out in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only (available under SN 6884).<br>
The purpose of the <i>Adult Dental Health Survey, 1998</i> was to provide information on the current state of adults' teeth and oral health in the four countries of the UK, and to measure changes compared with previous <i>Adult Dental Health Surveys</i>. Sampled adults (aged 16 years and over) were interviewed, and those with some natural teeth took part in a home dental examination. <br>
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The specific aims of the survey were:<ul><li>to establish the condition of natural teeth and supporting tissues by dental examination</li><li>to investigate dental experiences, attitudes and knowledge, dental care and oral hygiene</li><li>to establish the state and use made of dentures worn in conjunction with natural teeth</li><li>to identify those who have lost all their natural teeth and investigate their use of dentures</li><li>to examine the change over time in dental health, attitudes and behaviour</li><li>to monitor the extent to which oral health targets set by government are being met.</li></ul>For the second edition (October 2013), following requests from users, the depositor has added some additional variables to the data file, namely NS-SEC full and simplified analytical classes for individuals where derivation was possible. An updated disclosure control evaluation was also carried out, which has resulted in some variables being removed (e.g. all string variables, age in years) and other variables banded where appropriate (e.g. age, income).<br>
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