Oral health in Southwark’s 5-year-olds
Southwark is a borough in south east London. In the National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) for England: oral health survey of 5 year old children 2022 – GOV.UK, poor oral health, measured by dental decay in 5-year-olds, was found to be more common in poorer children. Children experiencing dental decay in Southwark had an average of 3.6 decayed teeth.
Dental decay varies with children’s ethnicity
Data at the London level shows the proportion of 5-year-old children experiencing dental decay is different in populations from different ethnic backgrounds. Some groups, including those recorded as being ‘Other’ and ‘Asian or Asian British’ had a higher proportion of dental decay (43% and 35%) than those recorded as ‘White’ or ‘Black, Black British, Caribbean or African’ (21% and 20%). Children from the ‘Gypsy/Irish traveller’ community had a particularly high proportion of dental decay (67%).
The current dental offer in Southwark
Southwark has an oral health promotion programme delivered by the Community Dental Service (CDS) at King’s Healthcare Trust. This is commissioned by NHS England on behalf of local authorities. Currently, approximately 10 primary schools in Southwark are targeted by the team. These are mainly identified using free school meal (FSM) eligibility as a proxy for oral health need. The service mainly provides oral health education and fluoride varnish.
Southwark Council’s Public Health team also work to improve oral health by addressing lifetime risks by:
- Commissioning health visitors and school nurses to support families by promoting good oral health
- Promoting healthy eating including our free school meals programme
- Commissioning services which reduce oral health risk factors including the smoking cessation service and drug and alcohol service
- Working with inclusion health groups most at risk of poor oral health including people who are homeless or asylum seekers and refugees
- Analysing health data to support better targeting of oral health interventions through our Joint Strategic Needs Analyses (JSNAs) and Southwark Insights Hub
New Southwark supervised toothbrushing scheme for autumn 2025
We are currently working with King’s Healthcare Community Dental Team to roll out the new national supervised toothbrushing (STB) scheme. This will see children aged 3 to 5 years old in the areas of highest need, receive support to brush their teeth regularly. Staff in early years settings that accept the offer will receive training, resources, and guidance on adapting delivery for children with additional needs and diverse backgrounds. Parents/carers will receive consent packs, home hygiene videos, and take-home brushing kits.
In addition, we will be distributing the Colgate-Palmolive donation of free toothbrushing supplies across our Best Start Family hubs and other family-friendly settings to support children with toothbrushing at home.
Useful public health resources for Southwark
We look forward to providing LDC Members an update of Southwark Council’s supervised toothbrushing programme in spring 2026.
In the meantime, Southwark Council have more information:
- To support your patients’ general health and wellbeing
- On Southwark’s population and demographics
- On health data at Southwark Insights Hub
For more information about our work, contact publichealth@southwark.gov.uk.
