THE Isle of Man has poorer levels of oral health than the North West of England – the region with the highest levels of tooth decay in the country.

Just under half of all five year old children in the Island have active tooth decay and each child suffering from it has approximately two and a half decayed, filled or missing teeth.

Health professionals in the Island have admitted that they are unsure why the levels of decay are so high when they have been steadily improving across the UK.

To try to combat the Island's poor oral health the Department of Health is launching a new health strategy which sets out plans for oral health provision in the Island for the next five years.

Health Minister David Anderson MHK said: "We need to make a real and sustainable difference to oral health.

"Oral health is linked to general health and therefore it is the responsibility of everyone in health care to consider oral health and the ways in which it can be improved."

The new strategy is out for public consultation and outlines the department's key aims. These include reducing the prevalence of dental decay, ensuring access to urgent, out of hours and elective care and changing the emphasis in existing services from repair of disease to prevention.

Norman McGregor Edwards, director of health strategy and performance, said: "The key point is that dental health in the Island is still poorer than it should be.

"We need people to understand oral health and take responsibility for themselves and their families."

The main aim of the plan is to reduce decay levels in five year old children to at least the average of the North West of England.

According to the strategy document the condition of a persons' teeth when they are five years old is a good predictor for their oral health in later life.

On average 20 children each month have around four or more teeth extracted under general anaesthetic and 350 children per year are likely to require orthodontic treatment to correct irregularities in the appearance of their teeth.

The strategy also places emphasis on ensuring that hard to reach and vulnerable groups such as the homeless, those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction, a lack of educational attainment and those on low income are targeted.

Carolyn Lewis, clinical director of the salaried primary care dental service, said: "What seems to work best is tailored advice. We are looking at developing care pathways to provide advice and treatment on a patient’s state of oral health.

"The aims in this strategy are achievable. If we didn’t believe that they were we wouldn’t put them into this document."

The consultation period will last for six weeks. Comments should be submitted by Monday, November 8.

The document can be found here.

Also see: Comments wanted on new oral health strategy for the Isle of Man