Oral health

Although oral health in England has improved significantly over the past 30 years, there are still both children and adults with unacceptable levels of tooth decay. It is estimated that around 1 in 5 adults in the Kent have untreated tooth decay.

Our resources

Data and reports

Information on tooth decay in children can be found in our Health and Social Care Maps.

Library services

The Public Health and Social Care Library can provide access to library and knowledge services, including books and journal articles relating to oral health. We can also produce bespoke literature searches. Please contact the public health specialist librarian: emma.ramstead@nhs.net

Requests

If you can't find what you were looking for, we complete over 200 ad-hoc requests for analysis each year. Request further analysis or a literature search or contact us.

External resources

A number of organisations produce statistics relating to oral health, both at national and local level.

NHS Digital publish NHS Dental Statistics, results from the decennial Child Dental Health Survey and Adult Dental Health Survey.
The Public Health England Dental Public Health Intelligence Programme publish a range of robust information on the oral health needs of local populations, including the oral health survey of 5-year old children, prescribing and extractions.
The Public Health Child Health Profiles provide snapshot overviews of health for local areas, and include some data on children with decayed, missing or filled teeth.