The national targets for children’s oral health, set in 2003, are that:
“on average, five-year-old children should have no more than one decayed, missing or filled primary tooth, and 70% of five-year-old children should have no experience of tooth decay”
Socio-economic factors are recognised as being key determinants of oral health status, especially amongst young children.
Despite improvements in the oral health of children nationally over the past 30 years, poor oral health remains a problem in Blackburn with Darwen.
A survey conducted during 2005/06 found that 5 year old children had an average of more than 3 teeth affected by tooth decay, more than twice the national average (1.47) and three times the national target (1.0). Only 37% of Blackburn with Darwen children were free of decay at the age of 5, compared with 62% in the country as a whole.
At this time, five year old children in Blackburn with Darwen had the highest prevalence of tooth decay, not only in the North West but also in England.
There are also marked inequalities in terms of both caries prevalence and severity across the Blackburn with Darwen. The map below shows only one Ward achieving the national target (less than 30% with decay) and 5 Wards with rates of decay of over 70%.
Percentage of 5 year old children in Blackburn with Darwen Wards with decay experience 2003/04.
For more local information see Chapter 7 of the Blackburn with Darwen 2007 Annual Public Health Report.
