The report said: “It is especially important to determine the proportion of children with enamel decay who do not yet have dentinal decay, as in the past, children were often regarded as ‘free of decay’.”.
For dentinal decay alone (excluding enamel decay), some 23.7% of children in 2022 in England were affected, dropping slightly to 22.4% in 2024.
While England as a whole has seen a drop in the percentage of children with enamel and/or dentinal decay – from 29.3% in 2022 to 26.9% in 2024 – it has risen in the North East, from 26.0% to 27.7%.
The figures relate to five-year-olds with any enamel and/or dentinal decay and show that 37.0% of children in the most deprived areas are affected – more than double the 18.0% for the least deprived areas.
Amount of five-year-olds with rotting teeth rising in parts of England – data The proportion of five-year-olds with rotting teeth is rising in the North East, London and the South West, figures show.
