Just over 70% of all children in England have seen an NHS dentist in the last two years, a report for the Information Centre for health and social care (The IC) has revealed. The report, 'NHS Dental Statistics for England, Quarter 1, June 2007' showed 54.9% (27.9 million) of the population was estimated to have been seen in the two years leading up to 30 June 2007.Of those, 7.8 million were aged 17 or under - 70.7% of all children. NHS dentists saw 50.5% of all adults (20.1 million) during the same period. The report, which considers NHS dental activity in England and includes analysis of the number of courses of treatment, found the proportion of people seen varied by Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area.

The highest proportion of children seen (73.9%) was in the North East SHA, while London SHA saw the lowest proportion (65.5 %). The highest proportion of adults seen (59.5%) was in the North East SHA area and the lowest proportion (40.0%) in the South Central SHA area. For further information visit http://www.ic.nhs.uk.