According to new statistics released by The Children’s Dental Healthy Survey 2013 children in Wales are suffering with more tooth decay than their English equivalents; the survey revealed that 63% of 15-year-olds in Wales had some level of tooth decay, compared to 41% in England. Furthermore, 22% of Welsh children between the ages of five and 15 were found to have severe or extensive decay, around 10% more than English children in the same age bracket.
It was revealed that only a third of children of all ages in Wales were viewed to have a good level of oral health. Although the dental health of Welsh children is in worse condition than those in England, overall it has improved in Wales since 2003, as the Welsh Government set up the Designed to Smile programme in 2008.
The Welsh Government released a statement in response to the survey, saying that the results showed ‘a relatively high proportion of children who live in disadvantaged areas and who generally have the poorest oral health’. The spokesperson added ‘whilst it is too soon to gauge the full impact of Designed to Smile, our most recent monitoring survey showed a 6% drop in the proportion of five-year-olds with dental decay.’