Glasgow is turning around the city’s poor record on children’s dental health.

For the first time in decades figures show the majority of youngsters across the city have no tooth decay.

A £7million investment in oral hygiene has helped see almost 60% of 11-year-olds given a clean bill of health during dental check-ups, 2,500 more than in 2005 and a 19% improvement.

Mandatory toothbrushing sessions in the city’s nurseries and schools and a fluoride varnishing programme have been cited as the main reasons for the drop in tooth decay.

Dental chiefs at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are hailing the figures as the most significant improvement in oral health since the introduction of fluoride toothpaste in the 1950s.

Glasgow has historically been cited as having the worst oral health record in Western Europe, with large numbers of young children having their milk teeth removed in hospital at a very early age because they are so badly decayed.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has also slashed the number of hospital admissions for dental extractions by 1,000 in five years.

Almost 97% of nurseries and 94% of primary one and two classes run teeth cleaning sessions. Hundreds of children have also benefitted from a fluoride varnishing programme and hundreds more will have benefitted by the end of 2010.

Figures show Glasgow is also leading the way in the number of children registered with an NHS dentist. A total of 93% of children are now on the books of a practice, compared with a Scottish average of 84%.

Ray McAndrew, clinical director of community dental services for NHSGGC, said: “Dental decay is 100% preventable, unlike other diseases that we treat.

“We are absolutely delighted that, for the first time since we began compiling dental health records, the majority of children have no dental decay.

“However we can’t be complacent. There are still 40% of children with tooth decay. Our aim is that no children have tooth decay.”

Five years ago around 3,700 children each year in the Greater Glasgow area were being admitted to hospital for dental extractions. The annual figure now stands at 2,700, which is still one of the highest in the country.

Dentists blame poor diet, especially sugary drinks in feeding bottles, for the problem and said it was not uncommon to see children under the age of two with decay or youngsters arriving at nursery who had never seen a toothbrush before.

Kevin Hill, director of oral health for NHSGGC, said: “Dental extraction is the number one reason for hospital admissions in children.

“There is nothing sadder than seeing a young child going into hospital to have a general anaesthetic for something that’s 100% preventable.”

Research indicates that poor dental health can have serious health implications in later life. Studies have shown a strong link between gum disease and narrowing of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

The health board is in favour of adding fluoride to the city’s water supply but have not pursued a campaign to persuade government bodies to adopt the controversial policy since 2006.

Instead it is focusing on a board-wide programme of fluoride varnishing, which kicked off in March in dental surgeries in Renfrewshire, reaching 454 children in seven schools.

Dentists are given cash incentives to carry out the treatment, which offers a temporary barrier to decay.

During May, hundreds more children in the Inverclyde area benefited from the procedure as well as schools in south west and west Glasgow and West Dunbartonshire. The programme will re-start in September in East Glasgow, North Glasgow and South East Glasgow.

There are now over 108 dental practices registered as a “Childsmile Practice” out of a possible 240 throughout the health board region. The health board say around 72% of practices will be participating in promoting Childsmile in the coming months.

Mr Hill says the next priority is an ante-natal programme to encourage mums-to-be to take care of their children’s teeth. He said: “If you start off with good habits they will stay with your for the rest of your life.”

• 97% of 549 nurseries offer daily toothbrushing to 34,184 children.
• 94% of primary one and two classes – 17,600 children – are involved in daily toothbrushing.
• More than 1,000 primary one and two children have completed a fluoride varnishing programme provided by staff since March this year. The overall aim is to apply fluoride varnish twice per year to every primary one and two child in the most deprived areas throughout the health board region.
• Upon completion, more than 5,000 children will have participated in the first round of the programme.
• More than 135,600 oral health promotion packs are distributed each year through health visitors, nurseries, schools and healthy initiative events.