UK - Three rotten teeth by the age of five
Three rotten teeth by the age of five
Thousands of children are starting school with three rotten teeth as improvements in child dental health have stalled, new figures reveal.
By Laura Donnelly, Health CorrespondentLast Updated: 9:54PM BST 16 Aug 2008
After decades of improvements, progress has stopped since 1999, leaving the average child with 1.5 rotten teeth by the age of just five, according to the new statistics. But in several towns and major cities the average is twice as high.
The British Dental Association said the figures painted a "desperate" picture and warned that the situation was likely to worsen due to a botched NHS contract, which had left hundreds of thousands of families struggling to find a dentist.
The figures, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, show that a quarter of children starting school have at least two teeth which are decayed, missing or filled. Children living in Blackburn, Nottingham, Manchester and Knowsley have the worst teeth, with an average of three rotten teeth by the age of five.
Experts say a shortage of NHS dentists, and a lack of campaigns promoting dental health mean improvements in children's teeth have now stalled. The figures for 2005/2006 emerged as the Government is this week due to issue a report showing the number of dentists who have left the NHS since the introduction of a new contract two years ago. Statistics published in June have already shown that almost 900,000 fewer Britons have seen a dentist since the deal came in.
Experts warned that the number of young children with missing teeth or mouths full of fillings was likely to rise, as the targets set by the contract encourage dentists to focus on basic treatment, such as removing or filling teeth, instead of complex work or prevention of tooth decay.
Dr Susie Sanderson, executive chairman of the British Dental Association, said: "It really is a desperate situation when we have got parts of the country where the average five-year-old has lost three teeth. We cannot afford to let this get worse". Without changes to the contract, the impact on children would be "potentially devastating", she said. Nine years ago, Labour pledged to give all patients access to an NHS dentist by 2001. Statistics now show just 54 per cent of people have seen one within the past two years.
The shadow health minister, Mike Penning, uncovered the latest Department of Health figures, which show that children living in Blackburn, Nottingham, Manchester and Knowsley have the worst teeth. "Under this Government there has been no effort to promote oral hygiene, beyond what the toothpaste companies have done," he said. "The worst thing is, these figures don't even show the damage caused by the new contract; my fear is that we are looking at a catastrophe within a decade."
Ann Keen, the health minister, said there was no relationship between shortages of dentists and the level of tooth decay among five-year-olds. She said the use of fluoride toothpastes and a good diet were the key to the problem, and highlighted a national scheme giving free toothpaste to children in the most deprived areas.
Thousands of children are starting school with three rotten teeth as improvements in child dental health have stalled, new figures reveal.
By Laura Donnelly, Health CorrespondentLast Updated: 9:54PM BST 16 Aug 2008
After decades of improvements, progress has stopped since 1999, leaving the average child with 1.5 rotten teeth by the age of just five, according to the new statistics. But in several towns and major cities the average is twice as high.
The British Dental Association said the figures painted a "desperate" picture and warned that the situation was likely to worsen due to a botched NHS contract, which had left hundreds of thousands of families struggling to find a dentist.
The figures, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, show that a quarter of children starting school have at least two teeth which are decayed, missing or filled. Children living in Blackburn, Nottingham, Manchester and Knowsley have the worst teeth, with an average of three rotten teeth by the age of five.
Experts say a shortage of NHS dentists, and a lack of campaigns promoting dental health mean improvements in children's teeth have now stalled. The figures for 2005/2006 emerged as the Government is this week due to issue a report showing the number of dentists who have left the NHS since the introduction of a new contract two years ago. Statistics published in June have already shown that almost 900,000 fewer Britons have seen a dentist since the deal came in.
Experts warned that the number of young children with missing teeth or mouths full of fillings was likely to rise, as the targets set by the contract encourage dentists to focus on basic treatment, such as removing or filling teeth, instead of complex work or prevention of tooth decay.
Dr Susie Sanderson, executive chairman of the British Dental Association, said: "It really is a desperate situation when we have got parts of the country where the average five-year-old has lost three teeth. We cannot afford to let this get worse". Without changes to the contract, the impact on children would be "potentially devastating", she said. Nine years ago, Labour pledged to give all patients access to an NHS dentist by 2001. Statistics now show just 54 per cent of people have seen one within the past two years.
The shadow health minister, Mike Penning, uncovered the latest Department of Health figures, which show that children living in Blackburn, Nottingham, Manchester and Knowsley have the worst teeth. "Under this Government there has been no effort to promote oral hygiene, beyond what the toothpaste companies have done," he said. "The worst thing is, these figures don't even show the damage caused by the new contract; my fear is that we are looking at a catastrophe within a decade."
Ann Keen, the health minister, said there was no relationship between shortages of dentists and the level of tooth decay among five-year-olds. She said the use of fluoride toothpastes and a good diet were the key to the problem, and highlighted a national scheme giving free toothpaste to children in the most deprived areas.
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