Two in five children failed to visit an NHS dentist last year
New figures have revealed that more than two out of five children in England did not visit an NHS dentist in the past year, despite official health advice urging regular checks.
In the year to the end of June, more than 6.7 million children visited an NHS dentist, which is just 57.9% of the child population. This was down from 6.9 million (60%) in the preceding year.
“There is nothing to smile about in these woeful statistics. With the average five-year-old now eating their own body weight in sugar each year, it is alarming that 42.1% of children failed to visit an NHS dentist in the last year,” Professor Nigel Hunt, dean of the faculty of dental surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons said. “We urge ministers to act. The soft drinks levy, which will be introduced in 2018, provides an opportunity to invest in tackling tooth decay. Some of the revenue raised through it should be spent on oral health improvement programmes.”
The east London borough of Hackney had the lowest proportion in England of children who had visited an NHS dentist, with 31.1% in 2015-16. The areas with the next worst records were all in the capital: Kensington and Chelsea (35.9%), Tower Hamlets (37.6%), Waltham Forest (42%) and Merton (42.8%).
In contrast, children in South Tyneside were more likely to have visited the dentist last year than those in any other place (81.6%), closely followed by the City of London (79.6%), Bath and North-East Somerset (78.7%) and Cheshire West and Chester (73.3%).
“Tooth decay is a largely preventable disease that can lead to dental problems throughout life,” said Dr Sandra White, director of dental public health at Public Health England. “For children, tooth decay can cause pain, problems with sleep, days off school and problems eating and socialising. Treatment can involve having teeth removed under general anaesthetic.”
She urged parents and carers to help fight tooth decay by ensuring children ate fewer sugary foods and drinks and drank water or milk, and by supervising their tooth-brushing with fluoride toothpaste.
