‘Heartbreaking’ inequalities exposed in children’s dental care in North v South

The latest statistics show NHS dentists performed 9.8 million fillings, fissure sealants and tooth extractions on adults between April 2020 and March 2021. A further 3.3 million such operations were performed on children. These numbers reflect a widespread decline in the nation’s dental health . Just over a third (34.1 percent) of adults in England saw an NHS dentist in the 24 months to April 2022 , compared to nearly half (49.6 percent) in the last full year before the pandemic. The British Dental Association (BDA) has warned of an exodus from NHS care, as the public dentist headcount falls to its lowest in a decade – down 695 in the past year alone to 23,577 today. This, in turn, has led to increasingly long waiting times for people wanting to access services. The situation is particularly dire for children in deprived areas. Almost a quarter of five-year-olds have some form of dental decay (Image: GETTY) Compared to the population, there were 219 fillings, fissure sealants and extractions performed for every 1,000 adults in the country, and 284 for every 1,000 children. These procedures are typically used when people have tooth decay to the point that dentists need to intervene  – either by filling in holes, reapplying protective sealants, or removing the tooth altogether. There is, however, a stark regional divide in England when it comes to rotten teeth. All of the areas with the highest rates of these procedures were found to be up North, and those with the lowest rates down South. See how your county fares using the postcode-search interactive widget below. Research by the Liberal Democrats showed that children in some parts of the country are waiting up to 18 months on average for dental procedures under general anaesthetic. These mainly include tooth extractions, leaving some children in agony for years. Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem health spokesperson, said the ‘heartbreaking’ figures show a ‘stark postcode lottery’ when it comes to dental care. The Government’s latest National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) survey found 23.7 percent of five-year-olds experienced tooth decay during the 2021 to 2022 school year – marginally up from 23.4 percent the previous year. This rate, however, also varied widely, with children displaying dentinal decay almost three times more frequently in the most deprived areas of the country (35.1 percent) relative to the most affluent (13.5 percent). Almost two-in-five (38.7 percent) of children aged five in the North West exhibited the problem, the most of any English region. Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation said: “It is nothing short of a national disgrace that more is not being done to address childhood oral health inequalities. Where a child lives should not determine how rotten their teeth are, but frustratingly, this remains the case in many areas across England. “The Government must step up and take urgent action to address tooth decay rates in England, and especially in the north where disease is most common. This includes widespread implementation of preventive measures like water fluoridation, which has been found to significantly lower rates of tooth decay, especially in areas of high social deprivation. “It is also critical that access to NHS dental services improve – all children have the fundamental right to see a dentist.’ Adults, for their part, are making matters worse for themselves. According to a new report by the Oral Health Foundation, 51 percent of UK adults skip toothbrushing once a week. This rate soars to 65 percent for under-35s, compared to just 40 percent for over 55s. Around one-in-eight (13 percent) were found to be not brushing their teeth regularly at all – at least three times a week. On this, Dr Carter said: “Brushing our teeth is the cornerstone to having good oral health because it removes plaque. When we decide not to brush our teeth, plaque is not removed and is allowed to build up, causing conditions like tooth decay and gum disease. ‘Cleaning our teeth at night, just before we go to bed, is the most important brush of the day. This is because health of the mouth is most likely to deteriorate due to the hours of sleep, as salvia flow reduces, and bacteria multiplies. This makes removing food, plaque and bacteria from the mouth an essential task before our head hits the pillow.’