Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of oral health charity the British Dental Health Foundation, said this reflected the rise across society in the use of low fluoride toothpaste at a young age, as well as the increase in junk foods. He recommended that children should use adult-strength fluoride toothpaste.
The survey also found that only 59 per cent of five-year-olds were free from dental decay, well below the government target of 70 per cent. But dental decay targets in the permanent teeth of eight-, 12- and 15-year-olds were exceeded, decreasing to its lowest recorded level.
Overall, levels of decay were highest in Scotland, with 66 per cent of children between the ages of four and 18 suffering, and lowest in London and the south east, at 44 per cent.
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