Dental health among local residents is a serious problem, said the Shanghai Health Commission ahead of National Teeth Care Day on Monday.

An educational event was conducted in the city on Sunday.

The incidence of decayed teeth among 3-year-old children in the city is 47.2 percent. Dental problems among local adults and the elderly are also severe. Although 95 percent of adults brush their teeth every day, the rate for those brushing their teeth twice per day is only 60 percent, the commission said.

To arouse publish awareness of dental health, the city has been pushing dental services and education.

Dental screening covered 370,000 children in 1,500 kindergartens, primary and middle schools last year, finishing a 5.46 million digital dental database for children.