One in six children in Hertfordshire have visible tooth decay by the age of five – and in some areas of the county it affects almost one in four.

On Wednesday (June 4) a meeting of the county council's public health and community safety cabinet panel will be presented with the data, as part of an overview of the county's oral health programme.

According to the data, almost 17 per cent of five-year-olds across the county have visible tooth decay.

And, says the report, in the period from 2021/22 to 2023/24 there were 280 hospital admissions of children aged five or under for the treatment of tooth decay, which is also referred to as dental caries or cavities.

The rates of decay highlighted in the report also show significant variation across the county – "with poorer outcomes seen in the most deprived areas of Hertfordshire".

In Broxbourne, 24.6 per cent of five-year-olds – that's equivalent to around one in four – were found to have visible tooth decay, according to the report. In Welwyn Hatfield it was 17.4 per cent and in Watford it was 16.6 per cent.

But in other areas the proportion was found to be significantly lower, with 7.2 per cent in North Herts – equivalent to almost one in every 14 five year olds. And in East Herts the proportion was reported to be 9.2 per cent.

According to the report, tooth decay is "preventable". And poor oral heath, it says, can be a sign of poor diet, "dental neglect" and sometimes a sign of "wider safeguarding concerns".

In response the report highlights a number of services commissioned by the council's public heath team to promote good oral health.

They include the Healthy Mouths programme which distributes oral health packs to under-fives in areas with the poorest oral health.

They include pop up clinics – staffed by a dentist and a dental nurse – that screen children's teeth, as well as offering free toothbrushes, toothpaste and an application of fluoride varnish.

And they include a targeted primary school oral health screening pilot, where children in Reception classes are offered oral screening and an application of fluoride varnish.

Meanwhile schools are also receiving training and support to provide a supervised tooth brushing programme.

In addition the report, that will be presented to councillors, also points to clear links between poor oral health and child obesity. And it suggests that many of the "risk factors" are the same.

"In Hertfordshire just under one in five 4-5 year-olds are classified as overweight or obese and this increases to just under one in three by the age of 10-11 years," says the report.

"Similar to rates of dental caries, there are clear geographical inequalities in Hertfordshire.

"Rates of overweight and obesity in 10-11-year-olds is highest in Broxbourne (35.3%), Stevenage (34%) and Watford (32.9%), but lower in St Albans (24%)

"Many of the risk factors for child obesity are also risk factors for poor oral health, including a poor nutritional quality diet that is high in sugars, access and affordability of healthy food choices , exposure to environments that promote/ advertise unhealthy food and have a high saturation of unhealthy food premises."

Members of the public health and community safety cabinet panel will be presented with the report at a meeting on Wednesday (June 4).