Oral Health

JSNA > Starting Well

Oral health is complex and is a key sign of overall health, well-being, and quality of life. It includes a range of diseases and conditions that include dental caries (decay), periodontal (gum) disease, tooth loss, oral cancer, dental trauma, and birth defects such as cleft lip and palate. It also impacts our ability to speak and smile.

The documents we publish on this page are either legally required to be made available for inspection, for information and analysis purposes or may have been supplied by the public and so in some cases may not be fully accessible. If, for any reason, you cannot access the documents and need an alternative format, please email ina@durham.gov.uk.

Key Messages:

In County Durham:

  • Around 1 in 5, five-year-old children have decay experience, this is 20.6% (2023/24). This is statistically similar to the North East and England.
  • The rate of hospital admissions for dental caries (five-year-olds) is 500.8 per 100,000. This is around 148 admissions per year (2021/22 – 2023/24).
  • The 5-9 age band has the highest rates of tooth extraction where the primary diagnosis is dental caries, 1229 per 100,000 (County Durham)(2023/24).

Data report:

Assessments, audits and evaluations

Supervised Toothbrushing Programme Evaluation

Evaluation is an essential part of all our Public Health programmes and services. They help us to understand what is being delivered and how effective it is, and why. The evidence, data and insights gained from our evaluations also inform our decision making and resource allocation.

We have evaluated the Supervised Toothbrushing Programme Evaluation and produced a summary

Read more about Public Health evaluations in County Durham.

Links to strategies and plans

Oral Health Promotion Strategy

The evidence base

Links to other data