People experiencing toothache

KPI 7: Proportion of people who have experienced toothache in the past 12 months

Toothache can result from tooth decay, a cracked tooth, loose or broken fillings, receding gums or dental abscesses and can cause pain that ranges from mild to severe. Pain from toothache can disrupt daily activities such as eating, and is often the first symptom of oral disease.

In 2017–18, around 1 in 9 (11%) children aged 5–14 years and around 1 in 5 (20%) adults aged 15 years and over had experienced toothache in the previous 12 months. Adults aged 25–44 were most likely to have experienced toothache in the previous 12 months (23%).

There has been an increase in the proportion of people who experienced toothache in the previous 12 months across all age groups except children aged 5–9 between 2013 and 2017–18. Notably, the proportion of children aged 10–14 years who experienced toothache in the previous 12 months increased from 4.3% in 2013 to 13% in 2017–18.

Explore the data using the interactive below:

KPI 7: Proportion of people who have experienced toothache in the past 12 months

This figure shows the proportion of people who have experienced toothache in the previous 12 months, by age group. National, state and territory data is presented for 2013 and 2017-18. In Australia, 11% of children aged 5–14 years and 20% of adults aged 15 years and over had experienced toothache in the previous 12 months in 2017–18.

XLS DownloadData tables available for download.

More information about toothache.