Overview
- The latest Child of the North update reports 26.9% of five-year-olds with tooth decay, with experts noting little improvement over nearly a decade.
- Children in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to have decay and over three times more likely to be admitted for extractions than those in affluent areas.
- Tooth decay was the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged five to nine in 2024/25, with 21,162 admissions recorded by NHS England.
- The national supervised toothbrushing scheme has reached 240,000 children since March, aiming for up to 600,000 in deprived communities.
- Actions under way include fluoridation expansion, a soft drinks levy consultation, and new limits on energy drink sales and pre-9pm junk food advertising, yet access to NHS dental care remains very poor.