New guidelines

Oral health in England has improved greatly over the last 30 years. However, tooth decay and gum disease are still widespread, despite being largely preventable. Around 31 per cent of adults and almost 28 per cent of children have obvious tooth decay. The incidence of oral cancer, caused by alcohol, tobacco use and the HPV virus  has increased by around a third in the UK in the past decade, with over 7,000 new cases in 2012 alone. 

Oral health can affect general health and wellbeing – poor oral health can be painful, affecting people’s ability to speak, eat, or socialise.  Over a quarter of adults report dental pain. Even though going to a dentist for check-ups contributes to good oral health, many leave it until they have a dental emergency (22 per cent of high and 34 per cent of low socioeconomic groups report only attending the dentist in an emergency).

Oral health problems can also be expensive to treat – each year the NHS in England spends around £3.4bn on primary and secondary dental services.