DT News - UK - Statistics show many young children missing out on dental treatment

Dental Tribune UK

Tue. 2 April 2019

save

LONDON, UK: A publication released by the NHS has shown that 57.7 per cent of children in England aged between 1 and 4 years failed to see an NHS dentist in 2018. In response, the British Dental Association (BDA) has called for the government to make more than just token gestures to tackle dental caries in this at-risk population.

The publication, which was made publically available in February, highlighted that around one million children between 1 and 4 years of age did not attend a dentist in England last year. Overall, 4.9 million children, or 41.4 per cent, failed to see a dentist in 2018.

Dr Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, Chair of the General Dental Practice Committee of the BDA, attributed this poor record to a lack of investment in NHS services in England, comparing it unfavourably to initiatives set up in Wales and Scotland.

“Any government that claims to value prevention should not be letting nearly five million children miss out on free check-ups,” Overgaard-Nielsen said to the British Dental Journal.

“The UK has pioneered policies that are transforming children’s oral health. While countries from Chile to Israel are seeing the benefits, kids in England have been left with a second-class system, without a penny of new investment behind it,” he continued.

Prof. Michael Escudier, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) of the Royal College of Surgeons, recommended that children be registered with an NHS dentist as soon as their first teeth appear. He told the British Dental Journal: “It’s disappointing that nearly six in ten of 1- to 4-year-olds did not see an NHS dentist last year. Children who experience early childhood tooth decay are much more likely to develop subsequent problems, including an increased risk of further decay in both their baby and permanent teeth.”

“It’s so important that a child’s first interactions with the dentist are for simple check-ups rather than more serious treatment. Just getting a child into the habit of opening their mouth for a dentist to look at their teeth is useful practice for the future. FDS strongly advises that children have their first check-up before they turn 1,” concluded Escudier.

The document, titled NHS Dental Statistics for England, 2018–19, Second Quarterly Report, was published on 21 February 2019 by NHS Digital and is available for viewing here.

To post a reply please login or register

Researcher shows how selfies could aid in identifying missing persons

DUNDEE, UK: Though sometimes denigrated as a sign of vanity, self-portrait photographs—selfies, for short—are not without their advantages. One such ...

Survey shows 40% of UK dental students consider dropping out

LONDON, UK: Various organisations have undertaken to evaluate the quality of life of UK dental students during recent years, and particularly as students ...

NHS releases worrying dental statistics for England

LONDON, UK: Late in August, the National Health Service (NHS) released the annual dental statistics for England. The report provides information on NHS ...

Study shows fillings may not be best treatment for childhood dental caries

LEEDS, UK: Though dental fillings are an established method of treating the presence of dental caries in permanent dentition, their usefulness for treating ...

Dental technicians: The missing link

If you ask a dental patient to which member of the dental team we should give our thanks, many of them would say to dentists and dental nurses. What do you ...

Starting Well drive encourages young children to visit dentist

LONDON, UK: It can sometimes feel like dentists are fighting a losing battle when it comes to children’s oral health, especially given that recent figures...

Patients with severe mental illness miss out on critical dental care

YORK, UK: Patients who struggle with severe mental illness (SMI) are three times more likely to face total edentulism than the general population, according...

UK dental schools come out on top in global ranking

LONDON, UK/SHANGHAI, China: In a new global survey, four schools in the UK have been ranked as some of the world’s top institutions for dental ...

Only small adjustments needed to improve treatment of autistic children

PLYMOUTH, UK: Giving paediatric patients with autism a choice on things like the colour of their mouthwash or brightness of the lights could significantly ...

Dental volunteers treat hundreds of children in Philippines

MANDAUE, Philippines: Four volunteers working with Dentaid, a dental charity that provides essential dental care to people in the UK and to people in many ...

Education

Live webinar
Fri. 26 April 2024
5:00 pm UTC (London)