ABOUT 68 percent of local children aged 5 suffer decayed tooth and the percentage is 32.9 among children aged 12, local health authorities said yesterday, the National Tooth Care Day.

Though the prevalence has been reduced from one decade ago and is lower than the national level, of 71.9 percent for children aged 5 and 38.5 for children aged 12, many local children still suffer from decayed teeth.

Oral health is closely related to cerebral and cardiovascular diseases and diabetes as well as influences a person’s overall health and life quality. Theme of this year’s tooth care day is “dental health and overall health,” said officials from Shanghai Commission of Health and Family Planning.

Periodontal health among local elderly is poorer than the national level, as only 7.4 percent of persons between 65 and 74 years old have healthy periodontal condition, dropping by 8.8 percentage points than the previous decade.