Children’s dental health still poor despite interventions

Improving children’s access to NHS dentists and reducing rates of tooth decay should remain a top national government priority, oral health experts say.

Analysis of the latest Child of the North initiative, commends government action taken in the past year to improve children’s oral health, including the introduction of a national supervised toothbrushing programme, bans on both the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children, and plans for the expansion of water fluoridation in the North of England

However, the report stresses how more work needs to be done, particularly to reduce the social inequalities as over one quarter of five-year-olds have tooth decay, but that increases to nearly one half for children living in the most-deprived areas of England

Researchers from the University of Sheffield and University of Leeds, who led the updated report, acted as advisors on the UK Government’s supervised toothbrushing programme, which aims to reach up to 600,000 children.

The latest update, entitled Improving Children’s Oral Health Update: Integrated Health and Education Solutions, is the seventh to be released as part of the Child of the North’s #ChildrenFirst campaign.

And it comes one year since the initiative exposed the unacceptable state of children’s oral health, and evidence-based solutions to address it.

It shows that, despite the improvements, children living in England’s most-deprived communities are still over three times as likely to be admitted to hospital for tooth extractions than those living in more-affluent areas.

It also shows:

• 9% of five-year-olds have tooth decay
• Children living in the most-deprived areas of England are more than twice as likely to experience decay as those living in the least-deprived areas
• In West Yorkshire, 950 school days were lost for dental reasons across nine schools in one academic year

Zoe Marshman, professor in dental public health at the University of Sheffield, co-led the report with Peter Day, professor of children’s oral health in the University of Leads’ School of Dentistry and consultant in paediatric dentistry at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Both researchers have acted as advisors on the UK Government’s ‘supervised toothbrushing programme’, which aims to reach up to 600,000 children in the most deprived areas.

Their BRUSH research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), shows that the programme has been rolled out to 240,000 children across schools and nurseries since launching in March this year.

Professor Marshman said: “There has been no real improvement in children’s oral health for nearly 10 years and our first national report published in September 2024 called for urgent action.

“Since then there have been major new ambitious initiatives announced with real potential to address this worrying trend. 

“To achieve this potential requires partnership working across national and local government with child education and health professionals engaging with parents and children. 

“Universities are key to evaluating the impact of these initiatives on dental disease and child wellbeing.”

Professor Day added: “These are exciting times. While disease levels remain stubbornly high, impacting our most-vulnerable children and families, the Government has taken important steps to implement the policy recommendations outlined in our original report. 

“As we transition into delivery mode, evaluating the impact of these policies is essential.

“Engagement from schools and nurseries will be critical. We must capture the broader benefits, particularly those affecting education, such as attendance, school readiness, and attainment.”

#ChildrenFirst builds on a major series of reports produced last year on key topics identified by Northern child health leaders as major issues of concern, including poverty, special educational needs, school attendance and mental health.

The reports included evidence-based plans and recommendations for policymakers to help address these issues.

The #ChildrenFirst campaign also includes the launch of toolkits designed to help schools, child health workers, and local authorities take practical steps to improve the health and wellbeing issues faced by the children and young people in their care.

Baroness Anne Longfield, founder of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “The reality is that far too many children continue to suffer the effects of poor oral health, particularly in areas of higher deprivation.

“The Government’s proposals for a programme of supervised tooth-brushing in schools is a positive step forward, as is its overall focus on boosting children’s wellbeing.

“But we know that so much more can be achieved, whether through local oral health strategies, supervised toothbrushing, or supporting healthier food and drink choices.

“We need to take evidence-based action and develop a national plan to tackle a rotten teeth crisis affecting millions of our children. We are calling on anyone who cares for children and young people to play their part in tackling this issue.”