Rates of tooth decay in Blackburn children still high

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said the state of children's oral health is "nothing short of egregious".

Figures from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities show there were an estimated 270 total hospital admissions in Blackburn with Darwen for children's tooth extraction in the year to March 2023.

Of these, about 185 were extractions for tooth decay.

Overall, the rate of tooth extractions in Blackburn with Darwen was 613 per 100,000 children, above the national rate of 360 per 100,000.

Amy Lepiorz, associate director of primary care for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board said: “Providing access to NHS dental care continues to be a priority both locally and nationally, and we recognise the difficulties that many patients are having in accessing routine dental care.

“In Lancashire and South Cumbria, we have launched the dental access and oral health improvement programme to improve access to primary care dental services in the high street and to improve oral health.

“This will include services such as routine care for people who require a check-up and any follow-up care, as well as urgent dental care for those in immediate need of support, prioritising the parts of Lancashire and South Cumbria with the greatest need for dental access and oral health support. It will also aim to reduce inequalities in dental access and oral health across the region.

“The programme will focus on where investment should be prioritised, improving patient pathways, communications to the public and to staff, and supporting retention and recruitment of the dental workforce.”

Separately, figures from the Government's annual Oral Health Survey of year 6 children showed 16.2% had experienced tooth decay, with those impacted experiencing decay in at least two teeth on average.

In Blackburn with Darwen, about 14.3% of 10 to 11 year olds had experienced tooth decay.

Cllr Julie Gunn, Chair of the Oral Health Strategy Group in Blackburn with Darwen, said: “There are currently some real issues around access to dentists across the whole country and this is linked to continuing oral health problems and hospital admissions. This is something that needs to be urgently addressed by the Government and people are really struggling to get dental treatment.

“The British Dental Association says that the £3bn spent on oral health has remained the same for 10 years, and 4 out of 5 dentists are not taking new NHS patients.

“While dental care does not come under Public Health, there has been a huge amount of work done in Blackburn with Darwen to help support the oral health of our children and young people, and figures released last year showed that we have improved by 11 per cent, meaning the numbers of children with tooth decay have fallen to 40%, which is still high but is a big improvement.

“We have seen 3,500 children benefitting from the tooth brushing in early years settings, and  due to all the oral health prevention and education work we have been doing in primary schools, we have one of the lowest rates of decay in our 11 year olds’ teeth in the North West, at just 14% which is lower than the North West rate at 20% and the England rate of 16%.

“Last year Public Health and our partners were awarded the National Association of Directors of Public Health Quality Award for our oral health work with children across the borough.

“There is still work to be done, and this is ongoing, but we are making big strides to tackle this issue and make sure all children in the borough have healthy teeth and good oral health.

“Our work includes supervised tooth brushing in schools, targeted awareness-raising campaigns and the first group of Kind to Teeth Parent Champions, who help other parents with learning about the best way to brush teeth and take care of their child’s oral health.

“There is also the provision of toothbrushes and toothpaste and free-flowing cups to every child at their eight to 12 month health visitor check.

"We know that some children are still suffering with tooth decay, as these figures show, and we do continue to face a challenge on oral health, but I believe we can carry on making progress and we will continue to work hard on this."

David Fothergill, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: "These stark figures reveal that a lack of access to affordable dentistry is having a worrying impact on the state of children’s teeth.

"The fact that, due to the severity of the decay, on average 119 operations are taking place each day to remove decaying teeth in children and teenagers is concerning and also adds to current pressures on our health service.

"Untreated dental care remains one of the most prevalent diseases affecting children and young people’s ability to speak, eat, play and socialise."

Dr Helen Stewart, officer for health improvement at the RCPCH, added the state of children’s oral health in England is "nothing short of egregious".

She said the link between deprivation and decay is "undeniable", as children living in lower-income areas were more than twice as likely to have tooth decay than their more affluent peers.