According to a new report, over half of five-year-olds in Leicester have some level of tooth decay, which puts the city at the top of the table when it comes to tooth decay among children. The National Children’s Bureau revealed that 51% of children in this age group suffered with tooth decay; the highest level anywhere in England. Leicester was also found to be 25th out of 150 local authorities for levels of deprivation.
The report, titled Poor Beginnings, says that the Government should be doing more to help children in deprived areas with their health and development and chief executive Anna Feuchtwang called the results ‘shocking’. It reveals a so-called postcode lottery of health and wellbeing, as children in neighbouring areas receive ‘wildly different’ levels of care and their quality of life varies greatly also.
Ms Feuchtwang went on to say that ‘As these variations are closely linked to poverty, with those in areas with the highest levels of deprivation more likely to suffer from a range of health issues, we have to ask whether England is becoming a nation of two halves.’
As well as poor dental health, almost eleven percent of four to five year olds in Leicester where found to be obese and less than half the children finishing their reception year at school were at a good level of development.