MORE than 30 per cent of youngsters in the town need to be told to grab their toothbrush more regularly after figures revealed the number of five-year-olds with tooth decay.
Statistics from Public Health England has found 31.6 per cent of five-year-olds in Warrington have decayed, missing or filled teeth.
Youngsters in the north west are at the top of the regional table for poor dental hygiene with the proportion of five-year-olds with tooth decay across the north west at 34.8 per cent.
That figure has fallen from 38.1 per cent since previous figures were published in 2009 with the national proportion at 27.9 per cent.
Figures ranged from Brighton and Hove recording only 12.5 per cent with dental decay to Leicester where 53.2 per cent are affected.
Warrington’s figures mean on average primary school pupils in the town have one tooth which is decayed, missing or filled in.
The north west average is 1.29 and the national average is 0.94.

A council spokesman said:“We recognise that Warrington is higher than the national average for tooth decay in children of five and this does cause us concern, that is why we are working with our oral health unit and local dentists to ensure children and their parents are educated on good dental health.     

“We advise parents to ensure their children do not have too many sugary drinks or snacks, that parents teach their children how to brush their teeth properly for at least two minutes twice a day, use fluoride tooth paste appropriate to the child’s age and have regular dental check- ups.  Work is on going to promote good oral health through schools and children’s networks and dentists do apply a topical fluoride varnish to children’s teeth to help protect them against decay, this is applied every 3 – 6 months.   

“If you do require a dentists then please contact PALS on 0845 301 3005 who will advise you of which dentists in your area are taking on new patients.”