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LGA - Councils respond to oral health survey of five-year-old children
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, LGA Community and Wellbeing spokeswoman, responds to Public Health England's oral health survey of five-year-old children
"While it is good news that tooth decay among five-year-olds has continued to decline, the number still remains alarmingly high.
"It is deeply concerning that a quarter of children starting school have rotting teeth, whereas in some parts of the country, this is nearly a third.
"The figures show that even at a very early age, children are consuming too much food and drink high in sugar, far too often.
"To help tackle this, councils want to raise awareness of the risks of excessive sugar consumption and promote tap water in schools, nurseries and restaurants.
"We believe it is vital we take steps to improve our children's dental hygiene, which affects a child's ability to sleep, eat, play and learn at school, with many councils already running successful oral health improvement programmes in their communities."
Notes to editors
According to the survey an estimated 166,467 five-year-olds suffer from tooth decay, compared with 177,423 in 2008.
Related report and information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tooth-decay-among-5-year-olds-continues-significant-decline
