Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 22 April 2013 (WA 372), and in the light of proposals to introduce fluoride to tap water in Hull, what are the most recent figures for the average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth amongst (1) five year old children and (2) 12 year old children, in (a) Birmingham, and (b) Manchester.

The most recent comparable statistics are from the Public Health England Dental Public Health Intelligence Programme. The 2015 survey of five-year-old children showed an average of 0.8 decayed, missing or filled teeth among children in Birmingham and 1.3 teeth among those in Manchester. A copy of the National Dental Epidemiology Programme for England: oral health survey of five-year-old children 2015 A report on the prevalence and severity of dental decay is attached. There are no more recent figures for twelve-year-old children than those given by Earl Howe in his response of 22 April 2013 (WA 372), the 2009 survey showing an average of 0.65 decayed missing or filled teeth in Birmingham and 1.12 in Manchester.