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• According to the 2002 Child Dental Health Survey, average numbers of infantteeth with decay were higher for Indigenous children than non-Indigenouschildren across all ages (from four to 10 years) in SA. The highest scores forIndigenous children were 3.91 and 3.40 for four and five-year olds, respectively(figure 5.5.2). The greatest difference in scores between Indigenous andnon-Indigenous children was for four-year-olds (3.91 for Indigenous childrencompared to 1.31 for non-Indigenous children) (figure 5.5.2).• For both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, permanent tooth decay scoresincreased with age (figure 5.5.2). Average scores for Indigenous children rangedfrom 0.44 for seven-year-olds to 2.27 for 15-year-olds, compared with 0.20 fornon-Indigenous seven-year-olds and 1.65 for non-Indigenous 15-year-olds(figure 5.5.2). The greatest relative difference in scores between Indigenous andnon-Indigenous children was for seven-year-olds; the score was 2.2 times greaterfor Indigenous children than non-Indigenous children (figure 5.5.2).EARLY CHILDDEVELOPMENT ANDGROWTH5.43