The 1998 survey of Adult Dental Health in the UK was carried out under the
auspices of the Office of National Statistics together with the Universitie
s of Birmingham, Dundee, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Wales. A key behavioural i
ndicator in these decennial surveys is whether people say they go to a dent
ist for a regular dental check-up, an occasional dental check-up or only wh
en they have trouble with their teeth. The proportion of dentate adults in
the UK who report attending for regular dental check-ups has risen from 43%
in 1978 to 59% in 1998, Older adults lover 55 years old) in 1998 were the
most likely to say they attend for regular dental check-ups. Many younger a
dults (16-24) in 1998 said they went to a dentist less often than 5 years p
reviously, they were also the least likely to say they attend for regular d
ental check-ups, Dental anxiety remains a problem for many dental patients
but another factor of importance to many is their want to be involved in th
e treatment process and especially to be given an estimate of treatment cos
ts.