An unhealthy start

The average five-year-old in 2005/06 had 1.47 decayed, missing and filled teeth, compared with 1.43 in 1999/00. So says a recent report by the Audit Commission on the health of young children. In areas of high deprivation it was worse. In the same period it rose from 1.46 to 1.75.

Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, said: ‘Overall, the findings are disappointing. Children need a healthier start in life and policies are not delivering commensurate improvement and value for money.’

Opposition parties not unnaturally saw this as yet another stick with which to beat the Government, but ministers found there was much to ‘celebrate’ in the report. The Chief Dental Officer for England is always telling us that the oral health of 12-year olds is the best in Europe, but that of five-year-olds has frequently been a cause for concern. It does not cover the four years since the new contract was introduced, so we cannot blame that. Who then should we blame?