A VILLAGE school is one of only two in Darlington with anything to smile about when it comes to children's teeth.

Darlington has the unenviable record of being the fifth worst area for dental decay in under 5s in the North and Yorkshire.

Only Middleton St George and Cockerton Church of England primary schools can claim to have fewer than a third of pupils with no bad teeth.

Coincidentally, both schools have parents who subscribe towards subsidised milk from the EU, which is handed out at morning breaks.

Dr David Landes, consultant in dental public health with County Durham and Darlington health authority, sees milk with fluoride as the way forward to improve not only pupils' teeth, but their general well-being.

He wants to see it handed out initially at nursery schools and right through to the age of 11 to ensure disease-free teeth into adulthood. He told Darlington's social affairs and health scrutiny committee on Tuesday: "Our aim is that people should have their own teeth to eat with until the end of their life. But we are probably getting worse, while the rest of the country is getting better."

Dr Landes said there was a direct correlation between poverty and dental decay. "You are talking about £2 for a toothbrush and £1 for a tube of toothpaste. That sort of money is hard to find if you are on benefits."

He told the D&S Times that it would not take a vast amount of money - probably £10-£20 per child - to provide fluoridated milk, which is about £50,000-£100,000 for the Darlington area.

Coun Veronica Copeland said she was a one-woman campaign to have fresh water available for children in schools, which might be a cheaper option for fluoridation than milk.

However, Michael Davidson, lead officer for the lifelong learning scrutiny committee, said: "Inevitably one of the difficulties is going to be funding this. We simply don't have the money and would have to look at getting some sort of grants."

It would be up to individual schools whether they took part and there would be parental choice.

Mary Chadwick, head teacher at Middleton St George primary said it could not take the credit for the teeth of under five-year-olds.

"But we have won a Heartwise school award for providing healthier food choices and encouraging sugar free snacks. We don't have a tuck shop and have a policy of no sweets in school. Children can have fruit instead."

The school has just won an Investors in People award for the third time in succession.

A joint dental health review working group is being set up by the social affairs and lifelong learning committees.