Work to improve oral hygiene for children in Darlington
Health bosses are telling us how tooth decay's affecting the lives of children in the town
One in four five-year-old children in Darlington have visible tooth decay, according to new figures which highlight significant differences in oral health across the borough’s communities.
A study of five-year-olds during 2023/24 found children living in the town’s most deprived wards had a much higher number of decayed, missing or filled teeth than those in more affluent areas.
Across Darlington, children had an average of 0.91 decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT) each.
However, the figures varied considerably between wards.
The highest rate was recorded in Haughton and Springfield, where children had an average of 2.58 decayed, missing or filled teeth each. Northgate and Bank Top & Lascelles also recorded averages above two teeth per child.
In contrast, eight wards recorded averages of fewer than 0.5 affected teeth per child, with the lowest levels seen in Hurworth, Harrowgate Hill, Park West and Hummersknott.
The study presents a clear link between deprivation and poor dental health, with the highest levels of tooth decay concentrated in the 50% most deprived wards in the borough.
Health officials at Darlington Borough Council said the findings represented a worsening picture, with the proportion of five-year-olds showing visible signs of decay rising from one in five to one in four.
The report also highlighted concerns over the number of children requiring tooth extractions.
Children aged between five and nine in Darlington have the highest rate of tooth extractions, almost double the national average for England, although the figure remains slightly below the wider North East average.
Data showed 120 tooth extractions were carried out on Darlington residents aged 0 to 19 during 2023/24, with 90 of those procedures involving children aged under 10.
In 2024/25, the total number of extractions among 0 to 19-year-olds increased to 135. Of those, 85 were carried out on children aged between 0 and 9.
The report highlights a correlation between areas with higher levels of tooth decay and the number of extractions carried out among younger children, suggesting poor oral health continues to place pressure on dental services and families across the borough.
Public health work
Health bosses in Darlington are telling us how tooth decay's affecting the lives of children in the town as they're working to improve oral hygiene.
Lorraine Hughes, Director of Public Health for Darlington Borough Council, said: "Across England, there's lots of areas with rates similar or higher than ours, so it is a common thing to have in children, but that doesn't mean that we take it any less seriously as an issue for Darlington.
"Fundamentally, it's getting the prevention right. If children are having too much in terms of sugary food and drinks, for example, or if they're not regularly brushing their teeth and flossing their teeth, or often children might be brushing their teeth but perhaps not doing it in the right ways, doing things like making sure you're brushing your teeth with toothpaste that contains fluoride, so people might think they're doing the right thing and absolutely any brushing is better than no brushing.
"But what we would recommend is that children brush at least twice a day with one of those times being before bed. Our local data tells us that there is a lack of understanding about this. When you brush your teeth, a lot of people will then rinse their teeth with water and what they're actually doing is rinsing off the toothpaste off their teeth, whereas what they need to do is keep that fluoride on their teeth.
"We've been giving over the last couple of years resources to the health visiting service, so at the 9 to 12 month visit, they've been giving out toothbrush packs because we want to get those messages across to families that it's never too soon to start brushing teeth and they don't need to wait until the children have got nearly a full mouth of teeth or a few teeth.
"When children are going for their preschool immunisations, we've got toothbrush packs and things that they can give out as well and then there's also community based events so in the town centre for example, there's been stalls there where we've been able to talk to people about oral health and they've been getting the packs with the timers and the toothbrush and the toothpaste.
"Early tooth decay, there won't always be symptoms to begin with, but it can then go on to cause problems, so if they get a dental cavity, a hole in the tooth, that can then cause toothache. It can cause pain, it can interrupt sleep, it can result in children missing school, and even from an adult perspective, missing time off work. But if it's really painful, it can also cause pain when eating or drinking and then in more extreme cases, it can actually become infected as well. It does have a real impact and some children also end up having to go into hospital to get teeth removed, so again, that's more time missed off school so it really can impact in terms of learning and just disrupting their routine."