Children’s oral-health poor despite government action

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 16. December 2025

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LEEDS, England: As a crucial dimension of the overall oral health crisis continuing to rankle across the UK, children’s access to NHS dental care and rates of tooth decay in England remain unacceptably poor, according to leading oral health experts. While recent government interventions show early promise, researchers say that they are not yet sufficient to meet the scale of need. New analysis calls for faster expansion and stronger coordination to tackle entrenched inequalities.

Children living in England’s most deprived communities continue to bear the heaviest burden of poor oral health, despite a year of significant policy activity. An update from the Child of the North initiative, part of its #ChildrenFirst campaign, finds that children in the most deprived areas are still more than three times as likely to be admitted to hospital for tooth extractions than those in affluent areas, and more than twice as likely to experience tooth decay. Nationally, more than a quarter of five-year-olds have decay, and dental problems contribute to substantial school absence in some regions.

The report acknowledges important steps taken by the government over the past year. These include the introduction of a national supervised toothbrushing programme, plans to expand water fluoridation in the North East, consultation on widening the soft drinks industry levy and restrictions on high-caffeine energy drinks and pre-9 p.m. junk food advertising. Early rollout data suggests the toothbrushing programme has already reached around 240,000 children, while aiming to reach up to 600,000 in the most deprived areas.

However, experts caution that progress has been slow for a problem that has seen little improvement over the past decade. They argue that scaling up delivery, ensuring sustained engagement from schools and nurseries and rigorously evaluating impact are now critical. The report emphasises the wider benefits of improved oral health, including better school attendance, readiness to learn and educational attainment.

Speaking in a Leeds University press release, Baroness Anne Longfield, founder of the Centre for Young Lives, said: “The government’s proposals for a programme of supervised toothbrushing in schools is a positive step forward, as is its overall focus on boosting children’s well-being. But we know that so much more can be achieved—whether through local oral-health strategies, supervised toothbrushing or supporting healthier food and drink choices. We need to take evidence-based action and develop a national plan to tackle a rotten teeth crisis affecting millions of our children. We are calling on anyone who cares for children and young people to play their part in tackling this issue.”

The update forms part of a broader series addressing child well-being issues such as poverty, mental health and school attendance. Alongside the reports, new practical toolkits aim to support schools, health professionals and local authorities to work together more effectively. The message from researchers is clear: targeted prevention works, but only if it is delivered at pace, backed by national coordination and embedded across health and education systems to reach every community.

The report update, titled “Improving children’s oral health update: Integrated health and education solutions”, was published in October 2025 and is available to read and download on the N8 Research Partnership website.