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• A greater proportion of Indigenous children had gingival bleeding thannon-Indigenous children across all age groups (figure 5.5.3). Forty-four per centof Indigenous children aged 8–9 years suffered from gingival bleeding, greaterthan any other age group.Hospital dental admission and procedure rates for Indigenous childrenliving in all Australian states and territoriesIn 2002-03, dental hospitalisation rates for male and female Indigenous children(aged two to 14 years) were higher than the rates for male and femalenon-Indigenous children, based on dental hospitalisations data from 1297 public andprivate hospitals (AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database) (table 5A.5.8).Dental hospitalisation rates for Indigenous children aged under five years and thoseliving in remote areas were particularly high compared with rates fornon-Indigenous children and Indigenous children of other age groups or remotenessareas (table 5A.5.8).Figures 5.5.4, 5.5.5 and 5.5.6 compare the hospital dental procedure rates forIndigenous and non-Indigenous children aged two to 14 years by sex, age group andremoteness. Over 80 dental procedure codes (International Classification ofDiseases Australian Modification) were grouped into ‘extraction’, ‘pulpal care’,‘restorative care’, or ‘other’ (including the provision of splints, crowns or bridges)(Jamieson and Roberts-Thomson 2006).EARLY CHILDDEVELOPMENT ANDGROWTH5.45