Hospital admissions for dental caries (0 to 5 years) - WMCA

Finished consultant episodes for dental caries among children aged 0 to 5, rate per 100,000.Following Census 2021, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carried out reconciliation and rebasing of the mid year population estimates (MYE) it produces. This process happens every 10 years following the census. The official population estimates for mid 2012 to mid 2020 have been revised, to incorporate the data now available from Census 2021. The data for this indicator has been revised to use the rebased population estimates from 2012 onwards. ## Rationale Dental caries (tooth decay) and periodontal (gum) disease are the most common dental pathologies in the UK. Tooth decay has become less common over the past two decades, but is still a significant health and social problem. It results in destruction of the crowns of teeth and frequently leads to pain and infection. Dental disease is more common in deprived areas, compared to affluent, communities. The indicator is a good direct measure of dental health and an indirect, proxy measure of child health and diet. ## Definition of numerator Finished consultant episodes for all persons aged 0 to5 years with primary operation F09 or F10 and primary diagnosis codesK021, K025, K028, K029, K040, K045, K046 or K047. ## Definition of denominator Local authority figures: Mid-year population estimates: Single year of age and sex for local authorities in England and Wales; estimated resident population (ages 0-5 years). Commencing April 2014, geographical references are taken from 2011 census information. ## Caveats No assumptions can be made about the method of anaesthesia provided for these procedures, but it is likely that the majority of episodes involved general anaesthetic. It is possible that different coding protocols are applied in some sites, which could explain some of the variation. In some instances, the data are an underestimate of the number of episodes, as the Community Dental Service may provide the extraction service in hospital premises, but the episodes may not be included in hospital data recording. Important: NHS Digital identified a data quality issue affecting HES data for East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (RXC) in 2018/19. Approximately 85,000 records erroneously had all diagnosis and procedure codes removed. Therefore, PHE did not publish values for indicators based on HES data for areas that had more than 10% of patients from that area with missing codes from RXC in 2018/19. Areas with 1–10% of patients with missing codes from RXC have been flagged to be treated with caution. For more details, see [HES Data Quality Notes]. Important: NHS England identified a data quality issue affecting Frimley Health Foundation Trust in 2022–2023. The Trust did not submit HES data for June 2022 to March 2023. Therefore, values have not been published based on HES data for areas that had over 10% of hospital patients from an area treated at Frimley Health Foundation Trust in 2021–2022. Areas with 1–10% of patients treated at the Trust in 2021–2022 have been flagged to be treated with caution. In 2023, NHS England announced a [requirement for Trusts to report Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) to the Emergency Care Data Set (ECDS)] by July 2024. Early adopter sites began reporting SDEC to ECDS from 2021/22, with other Trusts changing their reporting in 2022/23 or 2023/24. Some Trusts had previously reported this activity as part of the Admitted Patient Care data set. Moving to ECDS may reduce the number of admissions reported for this indicator. NHSE has advised that it is not currently possible to accurately identify SDEC in existing data flows. The impact of the change is expected to vary by diagnosis, with indicators related to injuries and external causes potentially most affected. When considering whether SDEC recording practice has reduced the number of admissions reported for this indicator at the local level, please refer to the [list of sites reporting SDEC to ECDS].