§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what percentage of five-year-old children in England and Wales had dental decay(a) in 1990 and (b) in 1993;
(2) if she will publish a table indicating for five-year-old children for (a) 1991 and (b) the most recent date for which information is available, the average number of teeth suffering from dental decay, analysed by region for England.
§ Dr. MawhinneyThe Department has commissioned the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to conduct surveys of the dental health of children at 10-year intervals. The most recent survey was carried out in 1993 and the report will be published later this year. Copies of previous survey reports are available in the Library.
Information on dental decay among five-year-old children is available from surveys by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry. Copies of the latest published report, which relates to a survey conducted in 1989–90, are available in the Library.