Five-year-olds in Bradford have the worst dental health in Yorkshire, possibly the country; according to a meeting of Bradford’s Health and Wellbeing Board. It was also revealed that the problem had noticeably increased since dental services became the responsibility of NHS England.
Board Chairman, Bradford Council leader Councillor David Green, said that the problem was becoming ‘bigger and bigger’ and was something that he is becoming ‘increasingly concerned about’. After speaking with a number of dentists he found that they were ‘basically at their wits end because of the pressure on them.’
He added that he was especially concerned about the number of people, in particular children, that were arriving at A&E with serious oral infections due to ‘lack of dental care.’ Councillor Green said that this could either be due to not visiting the dentist or perhaps because access to treatment is limited in the area. Finally, he said that the children of Bradford have got the ‘worst dental health…certainly in Yorkshire and the Humber, if not the country.’
Manager of patients’ group Healthwatch Bradford and District, Andrew Jones, pointed out that the poorer residents were more likely to be affected by dental problems, saying ‘The biggest enquiry issue that Healthwatch gets is about NHS dentistry. That’s nothing new, but dental care and oral health have a huge inequalities element to it.’