Smiles all ‘round: children’s oral health improving in Wales

The report by Public Health Wales is the latest dental survey of five-year-old children in Wales, undertaken by the Welsh Oral Health Information Unit, as part of the NHS dental survey programme.

The report shows:

Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said, “I’m pleased to see the continued progress in improving children’s oral health. It’s clear that our Designed to Smile programme is making a real impact in improving the oral health of children across Wales but we know that we have to continue seeing these improvements.

“As a government, we are fully committed to tackling all forms of inequality. So, I’m particularly pleased to see that children from the most deprived backgrounds are seeing the biggest reduction in tooth decay.”

Chief Dental Officer for Wales Colette Bridgeman said, “Although we’ve seen great improvements in tooth decay in school year one children over the last decade or so, there is scope for further improvement for the third of children still experiencing tooth decay.