Statistics published by the National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) revealed that 29 per cent of children across Lanarkshire in Primary 1 have obvious tooth decay.
Information Services Division (ISD) provides information on findings of the Detailed Inspection programme of P1 children in school year 2017/18. The National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) is carried out annually under the auspices of the Scottish Dental Epidemiology Co-ordinating Committee on behalf of NHS Boards. In total 16,814 children from Local Authority schools across Scotland received a detailed inspection.
The latest annual report revealed that 29 percent of Primary 1 children had obvious decay in their primary teeth in the school year 2017/18 across Lanarkshire. Across Scotland, children from deprived backgrounds are still far more likely to suffer from poor oral health than children from affluent backgrounds.
Graham Simpson MSP said: “These figures are deeply worrying, 29 per cent of primary 1 children in 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 that 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 deprived areas.
“This gap is alarming and needs to be addressed by the Scottish Government.”