DT News - UK - London Assembly praised for new report addressing children’s oral health

Dental Tribune UK

Thu. 13 June 2019

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LONDON, UK: The London Assembly has released a new report addressing oral health inequalities among children in the nation’s capital. The British Dental Association (BDA) has praised the report’s recommendations, which include a call for a media campaign promoting the key messages that NHS dental services for young children are free and that all children need to see a dentist by age 1. The report also calls on the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to encourage all local schools to become sugar-free.

Official data has shown that 26% of 5-year-olds in London suffer from dental caries, making the capital the third-worst area in England in terms of oral health outcomes. Furthermore, ten London boroughs have seen a marked deterioration in children’s oral health over the last two years, and children in areas like Camden and Sutton are up to 25% more likely to suffer from caries now than they were two years ago.

When it gave evidence to the London Assembly, the BDA had expressed grave concerns that London had the lowest rates of children attending NHS dental services of any English region. Of the 20 councils with the lowest proportion of attendance, 18 were London boroughs.

Unlike administrations in Wales and Scotland, England lacks a dedicated and properly resourced national programme for children’s oral health. Caries is the most common reason for hospital admissions among young children.

The assembly’s report acknowledges that it is imperative to integrate oral health properly into the wider health agenda, notably in tackling problems such as obesity. It is also important to have appropriate dental expertise on other health task forces and to involve non-dental health professionals in oral health promotion.

The BDA’s Dr Len D'Cruz, an NHS dentist in the London borough of Redbridge who gave oral evidence to the London Assembly, said: “This is precisely the sort of leadership we need to see from authorities in London. Children’s oral health has been slipping back across the capital, and investment, engagement and education are key.”

“Mayor Khan has made a commitment to make London the world’s healthiest city. He now has a clear blueprint to achieve that goal with our children’s teeth. This city can set a gold standard that the rest of England needs to follow,” D’Cruz added.

The report is titled Keeping the Tooth Fairy Away: Child Dental Health Inequalities and is available for viewing by the public.

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