Nearly a third of county five-year-olds have tooth decay

Oxfordshire County councillors will meet this morning to discuss children’s oral health, with five-year-olds in some areas suffering much worse levels of tooth decay than the national average.

The latest figures available, covering the school year 2011/12, showed 32.9 per cent of five-year-olds surveyed in Oxfordshire had tooth decay, compared to a national average of 27.9 per cent.

In Oxford that figure rose to 39.3 per cent and in North Oxfordshire’s Cherwell district, the worst part of the county for oral hygiene in five-year-olds, it was 44.5 per cent.

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The county council’s Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee will be presented with a report by director of public health Jonathan McWilliam this morning.

It will detail what action is being taken to improve children’s dental health in the county.

But Iffley dentist Manuel Perez-Padron said he believed part of the s Continued from Page 1 problem was poor oral health among immigrants.

Mr Perez-Padron, who is originally from La Palma, in the Canary Islands, said: “The NHS is not to blame, they have improved access in the last few years.

“What is interesting is that the area which we live in is highly educated and usually this would mean better standards of oral hygiene.

“In the last 10 years Oxford has had a huge migration from other parts of the world.

“My opinion is that the explanation has to be that people from abroad or from other parts of the UK have worse standards of hygiene.

“They have much worse levels of oral hygiene. I think the British and English have oral health that has not got worse and the number of dentists has increased.”

On average every child in Oxford has had 1.3 teeth affected by decay, according to the survey by Public Health England.

In Cherwell it was 1.34.

Training will be provided for health and non-health professionals working with children, and wider oral health promotion will take place, Mr McWilliam, pictured, pledged in his report.

• Jonathan McWilliam

In April the county council ran a campaign in pharmacies encouraging parents to take their children to the dentist from an early age.

Botley dentist and Oxford Mail columnist Katherine Rees said other steps could be taken.

She said: “In Oxfordshire we do not have fluoride in the water, unlike Birmingham or Manchester.

“Water fluoridation is the big thing.

“It is proven that tooth decay drops if you put it in the water.

“Eating habits you give to children are also important, so they are developing less of a sweet tooth and using fluoride toothpaste as well.”

Dr Eunan O’Neill, Consultant in public health at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “In Oxfordshire, rates of decay are similar to national and regional levels, but there are places where there is more work to be done – such as Oxford City and Cherwell – and we are committed to addressing this.

“We are working with colleagues in other departments and at the NHS to deliver education and information about the importance of good oral hygiene and to ensure that dental services are accessible to everyone.”

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