The words to use
- Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)
- England's official ranking of small areas from most to least deprived. NHS dental statistics report patients and treatment by IMD tenths (deciles).
- Inverse care law
- Julian Tudor Hart's 1971 observation that good care tends to be least available to the people who need it most.
- Supervised toothbrushing
- Daily brushing with fluoride toothpaste in nurseries or schools, supervised by staff. England funded a national programme for 3–5-year-olds in deprived areas from April 2025.
- Decay-related extraction
- A hospital episode in which teeth are removed with decay recorded as the main reason. There were 33,976 among 0–19-year-olds in England in 2024/25.
- Water fluoridation
- Adjusting fluoride in public water to help prevent decay. About 1 in 10 people in England are covered; UKHSA found the biggest benefit in deprived areas.
