DT News - UK - Statistics show many young children missing out on dental treatment

Dental Tribune UK

Tue. 2 April 2019

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LONDON, UK: A publication released by the NHS has shown that 57.7 per cent of children in England aged between 1 and 4 years failed to see an NHS dentist in 2018. In response, the British Dental Association (BDA) has called for the government to make more than just token gestures to tackle dental caries in this at-risk population.

The publication, which was made publically available in February, highlighted that around one million children between 1 and 4 years of age did not attend a dentist in England last year. Overall, 4.9 million children, or 41.4 per cent, failed to see a dentist in 2018.

Dr Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, Chair of the General Dental Practice Committee of the BDA, attributed this poor record to a lack of investment in NHS services in England, comparing it unfavourably to initiatives set up in Wales and Scotland.

“Any government that claims to value prevention should not be letting nearly five million children miss out on free check-ups,” Overgaard-Nielsen said to the British Dental Journal.

“The UK has pioneered policies that are transforming children’s oral health. While countries from Chile to Israel are seeing the benefits, kids in England have been left with a second-class system, without a penny of new investment behind it,” he continued.

Prof. Michael Escudier, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) of the Royal College of Surgeons, recommended that children be registered with an NHS dentist as soon as their first teeth appear. He told the British Dental Journal: “It’s disappointing that nearly six in ten of 1- to 4-year-olds did not see an NHS dentist last year. Children who experience early childhood tooth decay are much more likely to develop subsequent problems, including an increased risk of further decay in both their baby and permanent teeth.”

“It’s so important that a child’s first interactions with the dentist are for simple check-ups rather than more serious treatment. Just getting a child into the habit of opening their mouth for a dentist to look at their teeth is useful practice for the future. FDS strongly advises that children have their first check-up before they turn 1,” concluded Escudier.

The document, titled NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2018–19, Second Quarterly Report, was published on 21 February 2019 by NHS Digital and is available for viewing here.

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