§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average list size of dentists with NHS patients in(a) North Staffordshire, (b) West Midlands and (c) nationally; and if he will make a statement. [14254]
§ Mr. MilburnAt June 1997, the average number of adults and children registered for each General Dental Service dentist was 2,044 in North Staffordshire, 1,913 in West Midlands and 1,622 in England.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on standards of dental health in(a) North Staffordshire, (b) West Midlands and (c) nationally. [14255]
§ Mr. MilburnOne clear measure of the standards of oral health is the incidence of dental caries. The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry co-ordinates annual surveys of dental caries prevalence in different aged children. The attached tables show the most recent data for the mean number of decayed, missing and filled in deciduous teeth only of five-year-old children, and in the permanent teeth only of twelve and fourteen-year-old children in North Staffordshire, West Midlands and England. Similar data for adults are published every ten years. However, since the most recent data are based on a survey in 1988 and are therefore not particularly up-to-date, they are not presented here.
By tradition the acronym for decayed, missing and filled teeth is shown in upper case for permanent teeth—DMFT—and in lower case for deciduous teeth—dmft. 431W
Mean number of dmft of five-year-olds1 in 1995–96 Number North Staffordshire 1.81 West Midlands 1.08 England 1.63 1Deciduous teeth only.
Mean number of DMFT of five-year-olds1 in 1992–93 Number North Staffordshire 1.17 West Midlands 0.85 England 1.15 1Permanent teeth only.
Mean number of DMFT of fourteen-year-olds1 in 1994–95 Number North Staffordshire 1.99 West Midlands 1.24 England 1.67 1Permanent teeth only.