Nearly half of all five-year-olds in Stoke-on-Trent have fillings or teeth missing because of decay, health officials have said.
The city’s dental health is in the bottom third of the national league table, the primary care trust said.
It said it would spend money to bring in more NHS dentists and improve dental hygiene education, and has called for fluoride to be added to the water.
Kate Taylor-Weetman, who wrote the report, said money was available.
The city’s director of public dental health said 46.3% of five-year-old children who attended schools in Stoke-on-Trent had fillings or missing teeth.
Each child had on average four damaged, missing or filled teeth, her report said.
She said: ‘Historically in Stoke-on-Trent we have had a lower number of dentists compared to the population in other areas.
‘We are though getting more growth money from the government to enable us to start buying more dental services to actually provide treatment for local residents.’
She added: ‘We’re very pleased that we are actually now in a position, compared to two years ago when we had no money for dentistry, that the PCT now has money for dentistry and we’re able to start developing services for local residents.’
