The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) has welcomed the publication of the Oral Health Survey of five-year-olds by the Office of Health Disparities, which confirms the “compelling evidence” given by Sandra White to parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee. The report reveals stark variations between regions in oral health for children and highlights a continuing “north/south” divide.

Incidence of dental decay in five-year-olds was highest in the North West, Yorkshire and Humber and East of England regions.

In 2021 to 2022, five-year-olds in the most deprived 20 per cent of areas of the country (35.1 per cent) were 2.5 times as likely to experience dentinal decay as those in the least deprived 20 per cent of areas (13.5 per cent).

Sandra White, clinical director of the ADG, said, “In my evidence to parliament’s inquiry into NHS dentistry, I highlighted that experience of dentinal decay was already apparent in more than one in four children by the age of five years. Those children with experience of decay have on average between three and four affected teeth.”

“Until 2015, there was lower levels of prevalence of experience of dentinal decay in this age group and a reduction in oral health inequalities. Sadly, since then, we have not seen any further improvements in the prevalence of experience of dentinal decay or inequalities.”

“There are two clear actions the government could take away from these findings. Firstly, the importance of moving forward with water fluoridation which is recommended as reducing oral health inequalities in more deprived areas. Secondly, we have to address the workforce mismatch of the lack of training posts and hence dentists in the parts of the country that need them most.”

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