NHS general dental practitioner claims in the South West for provision of topical fluoride, fissure sealants, radiographs, fillings and extractions for children born in 2009: an analysis of a five-year period.

Introduction Clinical guidelines related to diagnosis and preventive interventions for children are well established; however, childhood caries incidence remains high.Methods Secondary analysis of routinely collected data from the NHS Business Services Authority for children treated by general dental practitioners across a five-year period in four local authorities in South West England was used to assess whether children of primary school age attending general dental practices were receiving radiographs, fluoride varnish and fissure sealant applications in line with current guidelines.Results In total, 40,780 claims had been submitted in the five-year time period for the 4,805 children included in the study: 4.