iHV joins Consensus statement on Child oral health

30th March 2023

iHV joins a group of 8 leading health organisations in publishing and sharing a consensus statement calling for the Government to urgently act to reverse increasing inequality in children’s oral health.

A survey of oral health in five-year-old children, produced as part of the National Dental Epidemiology Programme and published last week, found that over 35% of children in areas of deprivation experienced dentinal decay in 2022 in comparison to only 13.5% in more affluent areas.

With tooth decay the leading cause of hospital admissions for five-to-nine-year-olds, there is a significant, and preventable, knock-on cost to the NHS.

Families do need to be equipped with the knowledge to encourage and oversee good hygiene practice amongst children. However, this report’s worrying findings are not a result of behaviour, poor choices or a lack of education. Rather, they are a result of a wider system failure to take forward proven, cost-effective public health measures that prevent tooth decay and improve everyone’s health and wellbeing.

We therefore urge the Government to:

Impose further restrictions on the marketing and sale of sugary food and drinks.
Support policy across all departments to improve access to affordable, healthy food.
Increase the number of water fluoridation schemes, which are the single most effective public health measure for reducing tooth decay rates.
Improve access to fluoride varnish programmes.
Facilitate timely access to free child dental services for preventative advice and early diagnosis.
Ensure that the early years workforce are educated about the importance of child oral