Children’s tooth decay ‘is a postcard lottery in UK’

A new report has called for a health summit to address the "postcode lottery" that exists in children's oral health standards in the UK.

Analysis from the National Children's Bureau has revealed a significant gap in levels of oral health – as well as obesity, injury and early childhood development – for under-fives across the country.

Whereas only 18.4 percent of children living in the 30 richest areas suffer from tooth decay, this rises substantially to 31.6 percent of four to five-year-olds in the 30 most deprived regions.

As such, dental therapists are calling for an across-the-board health summit to tackle this issue, with organisations such as the British Dental Association and the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry seeking action on the matter.

This is emphasised by the fact that several deprived areas bucked the trend and achieved better-than-expected results, suggesting that local strategies and programmes can make a difference.

Melonie Prebble, secretary of the British Association of Dental Therapists, said: "A multidisciplinary health summit – that involves knowledge sharing and an open discussion on best practice – needs to happen sooner rather than later."