child screening programme
Dental disease
Tooth decay is also known as dental decay and dental caries. It is caused by a bacterial infection of your teeth.
Read more about dental decay on the NHS website.
UK NSC screening recommendation Based on the last UK NSC review of this condition that occurred in December 2019.
The UK NSC does not recommend population screening for dental disease in children aged 6 to 9 years. There is no evidence to support a change in policy.
Nationally, resources would be more effective focusing on prevention of the disease especially in relation to tackling health inequalities which form a key part of primary dental care services.
Supporting documents from the 2019 review
Evidence summary dental disease (2019)
This document provides the evidence on which the current UK NSC recommendation is based.
UK NSC coversheet & consultation responses dental disease (2019)
This document summarises the review process including the public consultation comments.
Review cycle
Date previous review completed: 2019
Next review estimated to be completed: 2022 to 2023.
To see previous evidence reviews, visit the UK NSC archive.
Organisations interested in Dental disease
These organisations have expressed interest in this recommendation and may submit responses to evidence reviews.
List of organisations
- British Dental Association
- British Dental Health Foundation
- Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)
- Faculty of Public Health
- Institute of Child Health
- RCS Faculty of Dental Surgery
- Royal College of General Practitioners
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
- Royal College of Physicians
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
- Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Royal College of Surgeons
- The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry
If you think your organisation should be added, please contact us.