Agenda item

Report of the Director of Public Health

The Committee took part in the first evidence gathering session of the review into the oral health of the child population in Gateshead and their access to dental services. David Landes from Public Health England attended the meeting to give some general context into dental health and dental services in the area.

It was reported that a small survey was undertaken to show the proportion of five year olds with tooth decay in 2015. This small sample showed 20% of the 5 year old population in Gateshead suffered from tooth decay. It was noted that Gateshead is performing well compared to the North East, which may be to do with the artificially fluoridated water in the area.

It was noted that a five year old survey will be carried out to examine all five year olds in state schools. This will allow comparisons to be made between different areas. It was however noted that this data will only be an indication following the change to positive parental consent in schools.

The Committee viewed a map which showed the areas in Gateshead with the highest percentage of dental disease. It was evident that there are wide variations across Gateshead, therefore there are inequalities in different sections and there is a need to look at other interventions.

The proportion of the Gateshead population accessing NHS dental care in 2012/13 was looked at. This showed that that figure was less than 50% for 0-4 year olds, however by school age this increases to 70%.  A breakdown of practices across Gateshead in 2013 was also provided.

In terms of orthodontic care this is accessed by the South of Tyne and Wear area and access is measured on a third of all 12 years olds needing orthodontic care. It was noted that this roughly meets needs and shows that all have reasonable access.

In terms of access to services it was reported that distances of 100,000 journeys have been measured, the majority travel less than two miles to dental services and the most deprived areas travel the least.

It was noted that challenges continue in terms of tackling dental disease in the population by addressing inequalities. Although 75% of five year olds in Gateshead have no dental disease there are still 20-25% who have preventable dental diseases. The Committee was advised of the need to consider if services are where they need to be and ensure oral health is integrated into all plans.

The point was made that previously dental vans were brought to schools which meant less reliance on parents taking children to dental surgeries.  It was advised that separate school dental services stopped in the early 1990’s however it was acknowledged that it is still important to get practices linked to schools. It was noted that the standard of dental care has changed massively over the last 30 years and therefore it would be very expensive to deliver a mobile service. It was recognised that for some families there are issues around overcoming the barrier of getting into a dental practice. It was also felt particularly important to ensure links with schools in deprived area. It was confirmed that current links are being reviewed through the Public Health reviews to see where dental care is expected to fit in, ie with school nurses. It is hoped through these reviews the service can be less disjointed in terms of 0-19 care. 

It was queried whether there are dentists trained to deal with autistic and disabled children in Gateshead. It was noted that all dentists should be able to help, either offering care themselves or be able to refer to colleagues who can better meet the needs of a particular child.

It was noted that Public Health gained responsibility for dental care in 2013, this is across the South of Tyne and Wear, therefore discussions must be held with South Tyneside and Sunderland. It is expected that in 18 months time there will be a full 0-19 service that includes oral health. It was agreed that regular updates on the review can be reported to Committee.