A pioneering NHS trial at an Oxford dentist is aiming to halt the city’s alarming rotting of children’s teeth.

The 12-month trial at Bury Knowle Health Centre will see dentists spend more time talking to patients about diet and hygiene, with some of their pay based on results.

Parents and councillors last night said if the new system worked well they hoped it could solve the problem of high levels of tooth decay in some areas of Oxfordshire.

According to NHS figures, children in Blackbird Leys and Grimsbury, in Banbury, are more likely to have decayed, missing or filled teeth.

The latest county figures revealed that in the past year 545 children’s teeth had become so rotted extractions had to be carried out under general anaesthetic.

Of that number, 218 of the children lived in the OX3, OX4 and OX16 postcode areas.

And, in July it emerged some children living in the estates do not even own a toothbrush.

Susanna Pressel, who sits on the Oxfordshire health overview and scrutiny committee, said the poor state of children’s teeth in parts of Oxfordshire had been a concern for the watchdog.

She said: “I think the pilot sounds like it could be a very good thing.

“The system we have obviously isn’t working.

“If it is successful we would like to see it rolled out in the areas that need it as soon as possible.”

Staff at the practice within Bury Knowle Health Centre have been selected from around 22,000 NHS dentists to test changes to the system.

The pilot programme run at the centre will see dentists paid for the number of patients they care for and the health results.

Under the present system, they are paid for the number of courses of treatment performed – called Units of Dental Activity.

The move could see dentists earn more money, but only if their patients respond well to treatment and report that they have been happy with their care.

Dr Anushika Sharma, from the centre, said the current system had put targets ahead of health.

She said: “Before we were paid for each unit of dental activity.

“It meant we weren’t able to spend much time with patients as we were given targets to hit. The pilot means we can take time to talk to patients about the reasons for poor dental health and talk them through things like diet and lifestyle.”

Mother-of-two Janet Riley, from Cowley, said: “Children don’t always listen to their parents about brushing their teeth and what to eat. Sometimes its good for them to hear it from a dentist or doctor.

“I think sometimes you feel rushed at appointments. This sounds like it would give people more time with the dentist.”

Dr Sharma said the pilot scheme running at Bury Knowle offered a better approach because it gave them time to talk about the reasons behind mouth problems.

She said: “If we don’t talk to people about these sorts of things the problems will keep happening.

“For example, this morning I was able to spend half-an-hour with a little girl explaining how diet can affect her oral health.”

Across the county, about 72 per cent of Oxfordshire’s under-16s get their teeth checked out every two years. A parallel trial in High Wycombe will look at improving access to NHS dentists.