Tooth Decay in Under Fives Still Big Problem
Every week, 140 under fives in the UK have to have a tooth removed - that's 20 per day.
New research has found more than a third of parents currently don’t bother brushing their children’s teeth as soon as they become visible.
This can have damaging consequences, since the majority of tooth decay occurs within the first 12 months of a tooth erupting.
Public Health England is calling for parents to be educated on the importance of children’s oral care, saying the care that’s put into baby teeth is essential in helping kids learn how to eat, form words, and to ensure their permanent teeth come through properly.
Dentist Monty Duggal is head of the Paediatric Dentistry Department at the University of Leeds.
He also works at the LGI and says it’s a big problem there:
“We see loads and loads of children, especially in Leeds, who come to us at the dental hospital and they have very bad, rotten teeth.
“Many of them need to be fixed, some need to be taken out, and many children end up going off to sleep to have their very poorly teeth wobbled out. So dental decay is still a major problem
“That is sad because it is completely preventable. You don’t have to say ‘you can’t eat this at all’.
"Children CAN enjoy what they find pleasurable – just as long as they brush their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
“If they’re sensible about it and the parents are sensible then it should be fine.”
Tooth decay is the most common preventable childhood disease in the world, but every year it costs the NHS millions of pounds in treatment.