Five-year-olds in South Gloucestershire have low levels of dental decay compared with children from other parts of the country, according to a new report.

The survey has produced a snapshot of oral health among young children, with nearly 140,000 five-year-olds from state schools across most of England examined during 2007-8.

It revealed that three in every 10 children of that age had obvious dental decay. But in South Gloucestershire, just under 21 per cent of youngsters had tooth decay. On average they had less than one decayed, missing or filled tooth.

The figures for the district were the best in the South West but they did reveal a relatively high proportion of filled teeth.

Dr Chris Payne, director of public health in South Gloucestershire, said, "These results suggest that children in the district are visiting a dentist and therefore decay is being treated before it leads to either missing teeth or obviously decayed teeth.

"We know that access to an NHS dentist is of concern to many members of the public and the good news is that here in South Gloucestershire, we have dentists offering places to NHS patients."

He said anyone looking for an NHS dentist should ring 0845 120 6680.