Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust recently launched its new Oral Health Strategy, which plans to address dental problems in Sunderland through improved oral health promotion, increasing the number of Sunderland residents registered at dentists and recruiting more dental specialists.

Deputy Chief Dental Officer Barry Cockroft (pictured) plans to take the strategy to other areas across the country as a model of good practice.

In some areas in Sunderland there are significantly higher levels of dental caries and other oral health problems in comparison to regional and national statistics. The number of decayed, missing or filled teeth in some areas of the city has been measured at over twice the national average.

Dental caries and poor oral health in adolescents and adults also stand at high levels. For more information email joanne.walker@suntpct.nhs.uk.