Half Of Under Threes Haven't Seen A Dentist
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- Published: Monday, 28 October 2024 09:39
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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This is the shocking finding of a new survey of over 5000 adults commissioned by Denplan, whose Oral Health Survey 2024 also reveals that many children brush less than twice per day and in some cases, not at all.
Published today (Monday 28th October) the survey found that almost half (45%) of parents haven’t taken their children to a dentist by the time they are three years old, despite official guidance recommending they be examined when their first milk teeth appear, usually at six months.
One in five (21%) parents say their children brush less than twice per day or not at all, up from one in seven (14%) in 2023.
The revelations will add urgency to the ongoing discussions between the British Dental Association (BDA) and government ministers as they grapple with the complexities of contract reform.
A third of the respondents who don’t visit a dentist at least every two years blamed an inability to access an NHS dentist for their own failure to be seen whilst in August 2022, the BBC published a survey it undertook in conjunction with the BDA, which revealed that 80% of NHS practices had closed their lists to new child patients
Dental professionals and healthcare workers have long voiced alarm that dental caries is the leading reason why children are admitted to hospitals, for multiple tooth extractions under general anaesthetic.
The procedure is traumatic for the children, invariably distressing for parents, and because it’s almost entirely preventable, represents a diversion of valuable NHS resources.
Parents welcomed further education on oral healthcare habits, with 86% agreeing that good habits should be taught in childhood to improve health for life. Almost four in ten parents (37%) think the government should implement oral health education in schools to help tackle the current children’s dental crisis. School-supervised toothbrushing – a policy teased by Labour ahead of the election – would be welcomed by almost half of parents (49%).
However, when questioned on whose responsibility it is, the vast majority of parents (89%) think they should be responsible for supervised toothbrushing, with only 29% saying teachers were responsible for their children’s oral health.
The teaching profession’s response to the suggestion that its members will need to supervise toothbrushing in infant schools has been generally lukewarm.
Catherine Rutland, dentist and Clinical Director at Denplan, said “Unfortunately, many parents think “they’re only baby teeth so there’s no need to go to the dentist,” however, baby teeth can stay with us until we’re around 12 years old.
“Many parents are also unaware that brushing should still be supervised by an adult every day until children are over seven years old to be confident they’re doing it correctly.
“It’s important to offer quality oral health education in primary schools, but our research shows that it cannot be relied on as the only solution if children only benefit four or five years after their first teeth appear.
"We need a far wider public health education campaign and a long-term solution that gives every child access to a local dentist. To improve access, the government must address the shortage of dentists in the workforce and commit to reforms of the NHS contract."
Denplan And Dentaid Target 90,000 Children
Dr Rutland added that many private dentists see the children of their adult patients for free and commended Denplan’s partnership with dental charity Dentaid, which has seen the private plan provider take dental education to the classroom via its Brightbites initiative. It aims to reach 90,000 school-children.
Andy Evans, CEO of Dentaid, said "The joy of BrightBites is that it’s an innovative, fun-filled programme that can be delivered by anyone at schools, nurseries and community groups across the UK – focused on areas of social deprivation.
"The children learn so much from the sessions and ask lots of questions, which really helps them to grasp knowledge about the importance of healthy diets, toothbrushing and going to see the dentist. We are very proud to be working with Denplan on this project and we’re excited to see it grow and reach new communities.”
To mark the launch of this year’s report, Denplan ran a BrightBites workshop with Dentaid, teaching children about oral healthcare at school. Videos and photos from the session are available here.
Programme locations are chosen based on social indicators such as the number of children receiving free school meals, which aligns with BrightBites’ mission to target schools in lower socio-economic areas.
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