Baroness Benjamin raises child oral health in the Lords
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- Published: Wednesday, 09 November 2016 07:39
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Baroness Benjamin asked the Government what plans they had ‘to promote oral health for children’. The minister, Lord Prior, replied that the childhood obesity plan had introduced two important measures for oral health: a soft drinks industry levy and a sugar reduction programme. Also Public Health England “continues to lead a wide-ranging programme to improve children’s oral health.”
Baroness (Floella) Benjamin responded saying that oral health was not mentioned in the Government’s childhood obesity plan, even though there is an epidemic of child tooth decay along with hospital admissions for extractions. The state of the nation’s children’s teeth is shocking, she said, and a huge cost to the NHS. She continued: “Common sense says that we need targeted action now. Can the Minister tell the House what is happening with the 10 pilot oral health improvement programmes announced in May and whether the Government will at least consider making oral health part of the daily school regime as a preventive measure?”
The minister replied that it was right to say that childhood oral health is very poor, “but it is getting better. Some 75% of children no longer have tooth decay compared with 69% in only 2008, but it is still not good enough”. The Government’s policy was very much around prevention rather than treatment. The new contract being discussed with dentists will put this work on to more of a capitated basis rather than an activity basis. NHS England has identified 10 areas of deprivation for special treatment and we are looking at a new programme with Public Health England to improve education in this area. He claimed: “Quite a lot is happening”.
A short debate followed with contributions from retired dentists Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Colwyn. But most of the contributions centred on fluoridation. The minister responded by saying: “The evidence for fluoride is incontrovertible: it is good for teeth. There may be other issues attached to fluoride, but in terms of dental health it is unquestionably a good thing. It is interesting to note that in Birmingham, which has been adding fluoride to its water for many years, the incidence of child tooth decay is 29% whereas in Blackburn it is 57% and in Hull, which is considering fluoridation, it is 37.8%. The evidence is very strong, but it is up to local authorities to decide.”
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