'˜Worrying' number of county children have tooth decay

NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division provides information on findings of the Detailed Inspection programme of P1 children in the 2017/18 school year.

The NDIP is carried out under the auspices of the Scottish Dental Epidemiology Co-ordinating Committee. In total 16,814 children from local authority schools across Scotland received a detailed inspection.

The report revealed that in Lanarkshire 29 per cent of P1 children had obvious decay in their primary teeth, and across Scotland children from deprived backgrounds are still far more likely to suffer from poor oral health.

Central Scotland list MSP Graham Simpson said: “These figures are deeply worrying, 29 per cent of P1 children in Lanarkshire suffering from tooth decay is far too many.

“There has been improvement over recent decades, but we must re-energise our efforts to improve oral health across Lanarkshire.

“I am most concerned about the inequality in oral health between children from deprived and affluent families.

“These statistics show the percentages of children with no tooth decay ranges from 56 per cent for children in most deprived areas to 86 per cent for those in the least.

“This gap is alarming and needs to be addressed by the Scottish Government.”