Data Resource Profile: National Child Oral Health Improvement Programmes for Chile

Dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide and represents a significant challenge for public health, especially in childhood. The Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 estimated that 7.8% of children suffer from untreated caries in deciduous teeth. Despite dental health improvements in the past decades, dental caries continues to be a global health problem particularlyly among disadvantaged groups, both in industrialized and in developing countries.
This article describes the process of establishing the ‘National Child Oral Health Improvement Programmes for Chile database’ via request, collation and linkage of national, regional and municipality level aggregated data (2008–19) of: child oral health programmes, interventions and activities; corresponding child dental caries outcomes; water fluoridation coverage; and area-based socioeconomic deprivation levels, to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of oral health complex interventions.