Survey results on child oral health

The programme studied the prevalence and severity of dental decay among 110,000 five year olds last year. Of those surveyed, less than 25 per cent of the cohort suffers from tooth decay.

This continues the downward trend seen since 2008, when the PHE first asked parents to opt in to the oral health survey of five year olds. In 2008, 31 per cent of five year olds suffered tooth decay and, in 2012, it was 27 per cent.

Sandra White, director of dental public health at Public Health England, said:

“This is great news. However, one child with tooth decay is one too many and there is still much inequality in dental health around the country. Tooth decay is painful and too often results in teeth extraction, some under general anaesthetic.

According to the survey an estimated 166,467 five year olds suffer from tooth decay, compared with 177,423 in 2008.

While there has been a significant decline in tooth decay at a national level, there is still a great deal of regional variation. In the North West, a third (33.4 per cent) of five year olds suffer from tooth decay, whereas only a fifth (20.1 per cent) do in the in the South East. As with the two previous surveys, areas with higher levels of deprivation tend to have higher levels of tooth decay.