NEARLY all children in West Berkshire fail to attend a dentist before their first birthday, according to latest figures.

Analysis of NHS Digital data for England found most children miss out on dental appointments in the first few years of their lives, putting them at risk of tooth decay.

Researchers were surprised to find that children from deprived backgrounds were more likely to attend check-ups than their wealthier counterparts.

One of the lowest rates of dental attendance for children aged under one was in West Berkshire (less than one per cent) but deprivation in the area is ranked low.

Meanwhile, the highest rate of attendance in children aged under one was 12.3 per cent in South Tyneside, which is one of the most deprived areas in the country.

Candy Salomon-Ibarra, lead author, said: "Our findings were unexpected as we had anticipated seeing higher levels of attendance in more affluent local authorities, but this was not the case.

"We explored with private dentistry providers whether children were being seen privately instead, but this does not seem to be the explanation.

"More studies are needed to explore the reasons for such variations in rates of dental visits, such as a lack of local initiatives to encourage attendance or difficulties accessing NHS care.

"The fact that so few children nationally under the age of two attend the dentist, no matter where they live or their economic circumstances, shows that policymakers face enormous challenge attempting to improve this situation."

The study found that only three per cent of children visited the dentist before their first birthday across the country, rising to 12 per cent by the age of two.