Scotland’s child oral health gap set to widen
New data shows decades of progress on children's dental health risk going into reverse.
Decades of progress in children’s dental health risk going into reverse – with gains at best plateauing – according to the British Dental Association (BDA).
The latest report of the National Dental Inspection Programme indicates that stark and persistent inequalities are widening between Scotland’s most deprived and most affluent communities.
Just 68.2% of P7 children in the tenth most deprived areas were found to be decay free – compared with 91.5% in the tenth least deprived – a gap of 23.3%, up from 20.1% in 2019.
The report acknowledges that since 2005 obvious decay experience has declined, but this downward trend appears to have flattened out since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reform to the way NHS dentists are paid was rolled in November 2023, but the BDA said there remain question marks over whether the level of change is sufficient to keep practices sustainable and narrow inequalities of both access and outcomes.
The BDA is advocating a fully funded workforce plan “to ensure Scotland has the dental professionals it needs.”
Gillian Lennox, Chair of the BDA’s Scottish Dental Practice Committee, said: “Vital progress tackling deep oral health inequalities has at best plateaued, and at worst gone into reverse.
“As we head into an election year it’s a stark reminder that there can be no complacency when it comes to dentistry. Our children will pay the price for any indifference.”