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Map reveals where kids are most likely to lose their teeth as 120 have NHS ops to remove decaying gnashers a DAY
Plus, top tips for looking after children's teeth
A MAP has revealed where kids are most likely to have rotting teeth.
The latest statistics show as many as six in 10 children in some areas are at risk of needing fillings, and in some cases tooth loss, by the age of five.
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There are clear differences between poorer regions of England and the more affluent.
Certain areas in England are seeing increasing rates of rotting teeth, with experts warning of a dental health crisis.
Looking at NHS areas (see our map above, for percentage of children with enamel and/or any dental decay), the North West, North East, London and the South West have some of the highest rates among five-year-olds.
Within these areas, Lancashire and South Cumbria, Humber and North Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and North East London are some of the worst places.
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At a local level, Manchester has the highest percentage of five-year-olds with enamel and/or dentinal decay - with 60.8 per cent of children affected there in 2024.
This is followed by South Hams in Devon (49.6 per cent), Pendle in Lancashire (49.0 per cent) and Salford (48.2 per cent).
Rochford in Essex had the lowest percentage (4.9 per cent), followed by St Albans (6.0 per cent), North Hertfordshire (6.9 per cent) and Bromsgrove (8.0 per cent).
The data shows a clear North-South divide, with the three highest percentages (not including London) all in northern England.
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England as a whole has seen a drop in the percentage of children with enamel and/or dentinal decay - from 29.3 per cent in 2022 to 26.9 per cent in 2024.
But it has risen in the North East, from 26.0 per cent to 27.7 per cent.
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The best and worst areas for tooth decay
Five-year-olds with any kind of tooth decay:
Highest:
- Manchester: 60.8%
- South Hams: 49.6%
- Pendle: 49%
- Salford: 48.2%
- Torbay: 46.5%
Lowest:
- Rochford: 4.9%
- St Albans: 6%
- North Hertfordshire: 6.9%
- Bromsgrove: 8%
- Braintree: 8.2%
In the South West, the percentage has jumped from 23.3 per cent to 24.2 per cent, and from 28.5 per cent to 30.0 per cent in London.
One of the main causes of enamel erosion is acids found in food and drink.
The report said: "It is especially important to determine the proportion of children with enamel decay who do not yet have dentinal decay, as in the past, children were often regarded as 'free of decay'."
The British Dental Association (BDA) said there has been "no progress" on the rollout of Labour manifesto pledges to "fix the failed contract fuelling the crisis in NHS dentistry" or to deliver prevention programmes in schools.
Chairman Eddie Crouch, said: "This oral health gap was made in Westminster, with children paying the price for official failure to take dentistry seriously.
"A new Government calls this 'Dickensian', but it will take deeds not words to turn this around."
Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan said: "The Labour government's promised 700,000 additional dental appointments have so far proven as real as the Loch Ness monster.
"To see your child in pain is one of the worst feelings a parent can go through.
"But to think that so much of this suffering could be prevented if the scourge of dental deserts was ended makes it all the more infuriating that we are still in this situation.
";It is time ministers woke up, gripped this crisis and prevented more unnecessary suffering."
The Royal College of Surgeons said, in 2022/23, some 47,581 children required tooth extractions in NHS hospitals, with 66 per cent (31,165 cases) directly attributed to decay.
This is the equivalent of 120 hospital operations every working day, it said.
Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, dean of the faculty of dental surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, said: "We've seen a slight improvement overall in the number of five-year-olds with tooth decay, but it is still too high.
"The fact that more than one in five children still suffer from an entirely preventable condition is concerning.
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"Supervised toothbrushing programmes (STPs), which the Government has said it will implement, offer a glimmer of hope, but their roll-out is uneven across the country.
"STPs have proven to reduce dental decay within a single year after children have been enrolled."
Toothbrushing tips for kids
WHEN it comes to kids brushing their teeth, it's important to use a fluoride toothpaste, as this helps prevent and control tooth decay.
According to the NHS, children aged up to three years should:
- Start brushing your baby's teeth as soon as the first milk tooth breaks through (usually at around 6 months, but it can be earlier or later).
- Parents or carers should brush the teeth.
- Brush teeth twice daily for about 2 minutes with fluoride toothpaste.
- Brush last thing at night before bed and on 1 other occasion.
- Use children's fluoride toothpaste containing no less than 1,000ppm of fluoride (check label) unless a dentist advises family toothpaste containing between 1,350ppm and 1,500ppm fluoride.
- Use only a smear of toothpaste.
- Make sure children don't eat or lick toothpaste from the tube.
Children aged 3 to 6 years should:
- Brush at least twice daily for about 2 minutes with fluoride toothpaste.
- Brush last thing at night before bed and at least on 1 other occasion.
- Parents or carers should brush the teeth.
- Use children's fluoride toothpaste containing no less than 1,000ppm of fluoride (check label) unless a dentist advises family toothpaste containing between 1,350ppm and 1,500ppm fluoride.
- Use only a pea-sized amount of toothpaste.
- Spit out after brushing and don't rinse – if you rinse, the fluoride won't work as well.
Children aged 7 and over should:
- Brush at least twice daily for about 2 minutes with fluoride toothpaste.
- Brush last thing at night before bed and at least on 1 other occasion.
- Use fluoride toothpaste containing between 1,350ppm and 1,500ppm of fluoride (check label).
- Spit out after brushing and don't rinse – if you rinse, the fluoride won't work as well.
Children aged 7 and over should be able to brush their own teeth, but it's still a good idea to watch them to make sure they brush properly and for about 2 minutes.
Source: NHS
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