Conservatives pledge free dental checks-ups for children

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley has promised that a Conservative government would introduce free dental check-ups for all five-year-olds.

Lansley outlined the scheme after the Tories published figures revealing that only around 20 per cent of primary care trusts (PCTs) now offer a free dental screening programme that is widely available to school children.

He claimed this was a result of the Department of Health removing the obligation on PCTs to offer school screening programmes.

Lansley said: "Labour's neglect of preventative dentistry for our children over the course of more than a decade is shameful. Ministers have quietly abolished a long-standing programme that helps to protect children's oral health.
 
"By contrast, we believe that it is vital to highlight any dental problems early in a child's life, and to reinforce the importance of good preventative care and advice."

The proposed programme would cost £17m and would be paid for out of the uplift in NHS dentistry budges, a Conservative spokesman said.

The government's chief dental officer Barry Cockcroft defended the decision to stop mandatory school dental screening.

He said: "It was taken in the light of advice that it was ineffective. Overall the country has good oral health with pockets of inequality. The British Dental Association supported the decision which allows PCTs to target their resources at areas of need."