Oldham dentist ‘unsurprised’ as 40% of five year olds could have decay

The figures show Oldham’s five-year-olds were more likely to have decay than those across England, where just 3 in 10 had dental decay.

The British Dental Association said the country's oral health gap is widening yet ministers remain ‘asleep at the wheel’.

Data from the National Dental Epidemiology Programme for 2021 to 2022 show 265 of the 3,431 five-year-olds in Oldham (7.7 per cent) had their teeth examined in the 2021-22 school year.

The survey covered children attending mainstream, state-funded schools.

All children under 18, or under 19 and in full-time education, are exempt from dental charges.

Of those analysed, 39.9 per cent had enamel decay or more serious decay to the layer of dentin under the enamel.

The figures show 39.5 per cent of the five-year-olds examined in Oldham had more serious dentinal decay.

This is the first year the programme has reported on enamel decay. Preventative measures can halt enamel decay from progressing to dentinal decay.

Eddie Crouch, British Dental Association chairman, said there has been no action to break the link between decay and deprivations.

He said: “Whether it’s providing access to basic care, rolling out tried and tested programmes in schools, or fluoridating water, our youngest patients require deeds not words.”

Across England, more than 62,600 children were included in the analysis – representing about 9.1 per cent of the England population at age five.

Of those analysed, 29.3 per cent had dental decay and 23.7 per cent had the more serious dentinal decay.

Regionally, the North West saw the highest level of tooth decay among five-year-olds at 38.7 per cent, while the South West had the lowest proportion at 23.3 per cent.

The programme's report said: “The cause of dental decay is well understood and is related to the frequent exposure of teeth to fermentable carbohydrates, most commonly through eating and drinking sugary snacks and drinks."

The report said while inequalities in those with tooth decay fell from 2008 to 2015, there have been no further reductions since then.

Oldham dentist ‘not surprised’ at figures

Dr Mohsan Ahmad, a dentist and partner at four dental practices in Greater Manchester, including Glodwick Dental Centre, said: “When I saw the results of the most recent survey of dental decay in 5-year-olds in Oldham, I was not hugely surprised with the figures.

“Having been a dentist in Oldham since 2008, I have seen children presenting with signs of decay from a very young age.

“Improving oral health amongst children in the area and Greater Manchester has been a major focus for a number of years due to the higher levels of tooth decay and inequality within the region. A situation that is not surprising, as it is recognised that children living in more deprived areas are almost three times as likely to have experience of dental decay as those living in the less deprived areas.

“While improvements had begun to be made pre-COVID-19 pandemic, there has undeniably been an impact on the oral health of children.

“Some children were unable to access oral health initiatives during this time, and the challenges faced by our dental services has meant longer waiting times for check-ups etc.

“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, it is very promising to see that eight out of the ten areas showed the same or greater proportion of children without tooth decay (dentinal decay) than in 2019 despite COVID 19 - although it is clear more needs to be done to get the oral health of young children in Oldham and Greater Manchester as a whole, to the levels we want and expect.

“What’s more, three of the areas that received Greater Manchester Oral Health Transformation funding for four years, including Oldham, reported improvement in the proportion of children with experience of tooth decay and there were fewer or the same average number of decayed teeth present.

“Showing that without the continuation of the oral health programmes and the investment of the Greater Manchester Oral Health Transformation Programme prior to the pandemic, outcomes could have been a lot worse.

“With all this in mind, the priority now is to keep building on what has already been achieved through the initiatives in place to improve oral health.

“This includes continuing to be a part of the Greater Manchester Oral Health Improvement Programme.

“Which, amongst many things, has involved dental practices in Oldham as well as those in other localities, helping to distribute toothbrushing packs to over 322,174 children from 9 months old upwards.”

Dental conditions ‘affecting children’s ability to play’

David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s community wellbeing board, said untreated dental conditions are one of the most prevalent diseases affecting children’s ability to speak, eat, play and socialise.

Mr Fothergill said: “Oral health inequality is expected to grow owing to the scale of backlogs in primary care, which limit the chance to catch problems early.”

“The Government should recommit to vital measures to combat childhood obesity and diet-related ill health, such as the sugar levy which has helped cut down the consumption of drinks with high sugar content,” he added.

Government responds

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the number of children seen by NHS dentists increased by 43.6 per cent in the last year.

They added: “We know tooth decay is often linked to deprivation and we are taking action to provide cost of living support."

They said the number of dentists increased by over 500 last year and added the government is investing more than £3 billion in NHS dentistry.