HIGH rates of tooth decay among Bradford's under fives will again come under scrutiny by health chiefs next week.

Nearly half of all five years olds (46 per cent) have some tooth decay - significantly worse than the regional average of 34 per cent and the national average of 28 per cent.

And earlier this year the Telegraph & Argus revealed how three toddlers in Bradford have rotten teeth pulled out in hospital every week.

Now, a report to Bradford Council's Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee compiled by Bradford Public Health, Public Health England and NHS England warns that while there are signs of improvement - there is still much work to be done.

The problem, which has strong links to social deprivation, has been identified as a key health priority and the Council has invested in a number of programmes under the banner of Building Brighter Smiles, aimed at the under-fives.

Education programmes have started to discourage parents using sugary drinks in feeder bottles and to encourage regular teeth brushing with supervised brushing even taking place at some schools, the report states.

So far more than 16,700 under fives in the district have also undergone fluoride varnishing which takes place twice yearly at school nurseries.

And, overall, children aged five and under by the end of 2013 had a higher rate of getting NHS care than the average for England and 85 per cent of children aged six to 12 had seen a dentist in the last two years.

Getting dental care in Toller, Bradford Moor and Little Horton wards, which had the highest rates of dental disease in children, have also got better in the two years up to July 14 and the access rate for Toller is now above the average for England.

The committee will also hear how the Local Oral Health Strategy is being reviewed along with a revised action plan and will be completed next month.

A total of £33 million is spent on dental care for residents of Bradford but more investment is needed - any contract funding freed up in 2014/15 across West Yorkshire will be directed to the Bradford area - which means about an extra 3,500 new NHS patients could be treated.

That money would target specific wards in the district, working with the public health team in the Council to make sure it was shared fairly.

"Improving the oral health of children under five is a key priority for the Bradford district, having one of the highest rates of dental decay in the country" the report states.

"The transfer of public health and some of its services such as the commissioning of school nursing and oral health improvement in April 2013 has allowed for a more joined up approach to tackling these issues locally."

The committee will discuss the report at a meeting at Bradford City Hall next Thursday.