Oregon children made across-the-board improvements in every major dental health category between 2007 and 2012, according to

Wednesday.

Rates for kids with cavities, untreated decay and rampant tooth decay all dropped significantly from 2007, when state health officials proclaimed that Oregon's oral health was "headed in the wrong direction."

But

, deputy state epidemiologist, wasn't willing to make such sweeping assessments Wednesday in the face of better numbers for 2012.

"We have encouraging improvement," he said, "but we have lots of work to do."

The new information is sure to ignite the already heated campaign over

. Fluoride proponents have cited Oregon's 2007 survey as evidence of a "dental health crisis" while opponents argue that alternatives could instead benefit at-risk children. Votes will be tallied May 21.

Originally, state officials expected to release their 2012 "Smile Survey" by February. But as recently as last week, the

warned that it might not be available until after the election.

However, officials on Wednesday released a draft report in response to a public records request filed April 18 by The Oregonian. Gutelius now says the final version should be available later this week.

"We know it's going to be helpful to people to have this information in front of them to make decisions," Gutelius said.

The new survey includes numerous health measures for children in first, second and third grades. Nearly every statistic showed

.

The percentage of children who already had a cavity fell from 64 to 52 statewide, according to the survey. That represents a drop of nearly one-fifth.

The percentage of children with untreated decay also declined from 36 to 20 statewide, the survey found. That's down by nearly half.

And the other major measure, rampant decay -- which is defined as seven treated or untreated cavities -- fell from 20 percent to 14 percent statewide. That's down by about one-third.

For just Multnomah County, the percentage of children who already had a cavity dropped from 56 to 51, according to the survey. That's down by about one-tenth, roughly half the decline experienced statewide.

And for kids in Multnomah County with untreated decay, the percentages fell from 25 to 21. The drop is about half of what was seen statewide.

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In the past, pro-fluoride group

relied heavily on the state's 2007 survey for campaign purposes. Campaign representatives declined to comment directly on the new report Wednesday because they hadn't reviewed it.

"We can and should be doing a lot better," Mel Rader, co-director of

-- the group that initially spearheaded fluoridation efforts -- said in a written statement. "Water fluoridation is a proven solution, that can substantially decrease the pain and suffering of Portland's kids."

A representative for opposition group

said the numbers show Portland doesn't have a dental health crisis.

"The fact that these figures are showing declines, and the fact that they're not releasing them (until now), is a concern," said Kimberly Kaminski, the group's chairwoman.

The new survey also showed that untreated cavity rates fell among white and Hispanic children. For white children, percentages fell from 34 to 18; Hispanic kids had declines from 46 to 25.

Meanwhile, the percentage of third-graders with sealants increased from 43 to 52.

Gutelius could point to only four measures in the survey showing increased problems between 2007 and 2012. The percentage of black students with a cavity in a permanent tooth increased from 14 to 15, while Asian students saw percentages increase from 6 to 8. And for students who don't speak English at home, the percentage of kids who had cavities jumped from 64 to 73 while those with rampant decay saw percentages increases from 20 to 26.

None of those numbers were included in the state's 2007 report, however.

Gutelius said those numbers weren't previously included because "there were not evident disparities ... that would help with targeting of prevention efforts."

-- Brad Schmidt