Vietnam reported 25.4 percent of its population aged between 6 and 8, 54.6 percent aged 9-11 and 68.6 percent aged 15-17 having decayed permanent teeth last year, according to local newspaper Pioneer Monday.

Meanwhile, 85 percent of children in the age bracket of 6-8 had decayed milk teeth, the paper quoted a report of the country's Health Ministry as saying.

The rate of local people aged 6-8 and 15-17 suffering from gingivitis, respectively, stood at 42.7 percent and 66.9 percent last year.

Dental diseases were mainly caused by lack of knowledge about dental care, eating too much food with high sugar and starch content and shortage of orthodontic doctors, especially in remote and mountainous areas.

At present, there is one orthodontic doctor for every 25,000-30, 000 Vietnamese people, only one-tenth of the world's average level. The number of orthodontic doctors in rural area averages one for 700,000 people, the report said.

Source: Xinhua