DT News - UK - New report holds parents responsible for poor state of children’s oral health

DT UK

Thu. 16 July 2015

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MANCHESTER, UK: A lack of knowledge about the importance of early oral health care measures and the availability of treatment among parents has led to almost every seventh child aged 8 or under in the UK having never seen a dentist, according to a new report by dental group mydentist in Manchester. The survey also found that one in ten of those children who had actually seen a dentist had at least one filling done, resulting in an estimated burden of £22 million annually for the National Health Service.

The report is in line with new findings by the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England earlier this week that oral health among the nation’s youth is worsening, with more children than ever sent to hospitals for tooth extractions owing to severe decay. While the Royal College of Surgeons has identified increasing sugar consumption as the main contributor, the mydentist report blames parents who are unaware of or fail to implement appropriate oral health care measures at home for the dental problems.

Among its findings are that only a quarter of the children of the parents surveyed brushed their teeth for the recommended two minutes twice daily.

Many parents also failed to identify things that are actually beneficial to their children’s health, such as fluoride, which 13 per cent considered to be harmful.

On the contrary, almost a fifth of the parents thought that acidic beverages like fruit smoothies, a major contributor to tooth erosion, would benefit their children’s teeth.

In order to address the problem, mydentist has launched a new oral health initiative for children and their parents that includes print and online resources to educate both parents and children about the importance of early oral health care measures.

“Early dental care can be a confusing, daunting issue for many parents,” mydentist non-executive director and former Chief Dental Officer for England Barry Cockcroft, CBE, said, “Better education must support the significant access improvements the industry and its relevant stakeholders are making, in order to build a system where the key drivers of prevention and treatment can work effectively together.”

The mydentist survey was conducted among 2,000 parents throughout the UK. It found that those in Wales were most likely to take their children to see a dentist early on. Children living in the North West also scored higher in terms of personal oral hygiene, brushing their teeth for longer than youngsters in any other region.

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