Oral health plan in Wales

The publication of the National Oral Health Plan for Wales 2013 - 2018 indicates some progress has been made in child dental health, particularly among 12 year-olds, but overall, tooth decay among children living in deprived communities remains the highest in the UK.

In 2011, the BDA called for four priorities to improve the oral health of Wales: eradicating oral health inequalities; developing a new dental contract for Wales; supporting health boards; and planning for the future.

It also called for the expansion of the Designed to Smile programme of oral health promotion for children, launched in 2008, which has proved instrumental in improving child dental health in Wales.

The BDA, therefore, welcomes the directive within the National Oral Health Plan that health boards must ensure the continued development of community-based programmes like Designed to Smile, to reduce the number of children undergoing general anaesthetic for tooth extractions.

However, given the inertia on water fluoridation in Wales, alternative preventive interventions would need a step-up in funding support to be deliverable.