§ Mr. HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many school pupils by health authority were both inspected and reinspected by the school dental service in each year since 1990; and it he will make a statement. [150393]
§ Mr. HuttonThe information for England has been placed in the Library.
The tables show, for children aged five to 15, the number of screenings by the Community Dental Service (CDS) and the number of episodes of care in the CDS following screening programmes and following recall by the CDS. The number of episodes of care is not available before 1992–93. The information is shown by district health authority up to 1995–96 and by health authority thereafter.
As part of the Dental Strategy we will work with the dental profession to clarify the aims and objectives for school dental screening, so that current best practice in encouraging treatment where necessary after screening becomes routine for all CDS and school dental screening programmes.