ALMOST four million people in Scotland are registered with an NHS dentist – the highest number ever recorded – according to figures published today.
Children’s dental health is also better than ever before, with almost 70% of primary seven children inScotlandhaving no obvious sign of tooth decay.
Dental registration figures, released today by ISD Scotland, show that as of 30 September 2011, almost four million people across Scotland were registered with an NHS dentist – 73% (3.1 million) of adults, and 86% (894,000) of children.
This means an additional 1.36 million people have registered with an NHS dentist since March 2007.
And a report published today by ISD Scotland shows that 69.4%, the highest number ever, of primary seven children inScotlandhave no obvious sign of tooth decay.
Improvements
The report, by the National Dental Inspection Programme, shows that for the first time, all NHS boards have met the Scottish Government target for 60 per cent of primary sevens to have no obvious signs of tooth decay. This is an overall increase acrossScotlandof almost six per cent on 2009.
Public Health Minister, Michael Matheson said: “It is fantastic that we now have an extra 1.3 million Scots registered with an NHS dentist.
“Our latest figures show there are record numbers of dentists working in NHS Scotland and this has resulted in more people being able to access an NHS dentist.
“With increased access we will expect to see improvements in the oral health of the nation and these figures show that we are already seeing significant leaps forward in children’s dental health.
“Our primary seven children inScotlandhave the best dental health since records began, and for the first time, all 14 NHS Boards have exceeded the target – that 60% should have no obvious signs of decay.
“The 2011 figures also show that 69.4% of children in Primary 7 had no signs of obvious decay experience; this compares with just 52.9% in 2005. This is tremendous progress and is a sign that we are reaping the reward of our significant investment in children’s dentistry.”
