DT News - UK - Rates of dental caries in children decline in Scotland

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 5 November 2013

save

EDINBURGH, UK: According to the latest statistics, the oral health of children in Scotland continues to improve. Overall, a report recently published by the Information Services Division (ISD Scotland), a division of NHS Scotland that provides health information, health intelligence, statistical services and advice, has demonstrated that rates of dental decay have fallen significantly since 2005.

The 2013 survey, which was undertaken in the 2012/13 school year among children aged 10 to 13 across Scotland, showed that almost 75 per cent of children in this age group had no obvious decay experience in their permanent molars, compared with about 70 per cent in 2011 and 53 per cent in 2005. The average number of teeth affected by obvious decay experience improved from 1.29 in 2005 to 0.7 in 2011 and 0.6 in 2013.

With regard to the 27 per cent of children who showed signs of decay, the investigators found that, on average, just over half of the teeth with obvious caries experience had been treated with a restoration.

In the 10 to 12 age group, children from all socio-economic backgrounds saw an improvement in their dental health compared with the results of 2011, the investigators found. The major improvement occurred in the most deprived quintiles. However, they also pointed out that clear health inequalities remain.

It is anticipated that the improved level of dental health will be maintained as the Childsmile programme, a national initiative aimed at reducing inequalities in oral health and ensuring access to dental services for every child across the country, continues to be refined and implemented.

The report, titled “National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) 2013”, was published by ISD Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Dental Epidemiology Coordinating Committee. The full report is available on the division’s website.

To post a reply please login or register

Regular use of mouthrinse reduces caries in children

LONDON, UK: In order to determine the effectiveness and safety of fluoride mouthrinses in preventing dental caries in the younger population, researchers ...

Drive launched to tackle dental caries in children in Manchester

MANCHESTER, UK: In the Greater Manchester region, the most common reason for young children being admitted to hospital is to have a tooth removed. In ...

Help on the way for unregistered dental patients in Scotland

DUMFRIES, Scotland: After years of governmental neglect, the UK is now in the middle of a public dental health crisis. Caused mainly by underfunding and ...

Dental volunteers treat hundreds of children in Philippines

MANDAUE, Philippines: Four volunteers working with Dentaid, a dental charity that provides essential dental care to people in the UK and to people in many ...

National programme improves dental health of children in Wales

CARDIFF, UK: The Welsh Government’s Designed to Smile programme has succeeded in its mission to improve children’s oral health. According to the...

Decline of dental gold production continues

LONDON, UK: The use of gold in dental applications declined further in 2013. According to provisional figures released by the World Gold Council in London ...

Caries in children: English dentists extract 160 teeth a day

LONDON, UK: More than 40,000 hospital operations to remove teeth in children and teenagers were performed last year in England, according to the latest ...

Dental leaders seek to improve school meals in Scotland

GLASGOW, Scotland: The Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has published its response to the Scottish ...

Whole mouth extractions in children on the rise in the UK

LONDON, UK: New data released by the National Health Service (NHS) has painted a bleak picture of the state of oral health in children in the UK, with 322 ...

Alarming increase in oral cancer rates in the UK

RUGBY, UK: In marking World Cancer Day, the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) has highlighted the constantly increasing rates of oral cancer in the ...

Education

Live webinar
Wed. 22 October 2025
6:00 pm UTC (London)