Chief Dental Officer Claims Rate Of Tooth Decay Is Too High In Wales

Sample News Big

David Thomas, chief dental officer in Wales, believes that rates of decay among children are too high.

Mr Thomas was speaking ahead of the launch of a new oral health plan in Cardiff and said that decay is too common among children in Wales, despite the fact that figures show an improvement in standards of oral health over the last six years. The latest figures show that rates of tooth decay among five year olds have decreased by 6 per cent to 41 per cent since 2007.

More than 78,000 children are already involved in an oral health programme but Mr Thomas said that more needs to be done as rates are “still too high”. The new oral health plan, which will be rolled out on a national basis, will focus on preventative dental treatment to try and reduce the number of children who develop tooth decay.

Mr Thomas said that the main aim of the new national plan is to prevent oral health problems in children; another major focus is encouraging people to take responsibility of their own oral health.

The dental health survey was carried out by the Cardiff University School of Dentistry in partnership with Public Health Wales. The figures were published by the Welsh Oral Health Information Unit.

Join this Discussion

Comments are closed.