Hygiene poverty leading to dental issues in children in Oxfordshire
Research shows one in four children across Oxfordshire have been in hygiene poverty in the past year.
A campaign group is warning of a 'massive health divide' in the country when it comes to oral hygiene.
It's as data from The Hygiene Bank shows over 4.2 million people in the UK are living in hygiene poverty - that means not being able to afford many of the basic hygiene and personal grooming products many take for granted.
Since 2022, the cost-of-living crisis and the inflation crisis has pushed over a million more people into hygiene poverty.
The charity's has found a direct link between hygiene poverty and children's oral health with nearly a third (29%) of parents reporting changes or a reduction in the quality of dental care products for their children due to financial constraints in the last year.
One in four (23%) say their children's oral hygiene has worsened and one in five (19%) say their children have missed school due to oral hygiene issues.
"This shouldn't be happening"
Mark Jones, founder of Toothless in England, which began three years ago, isn't surprised by these findings: "It's a familiar pattern.
"The downward spiral of oral health in this country is increasing at a rapid rate and this speaks volumes for what we see and hear on a regular basis...
"This shouldn't be happening... and is a reflection of how badly oral health has been managed...
"The slow pace of change is by millimetres - we need to make significant strides to develop a dental strategy that puts patients first.
"Let's address that and tackle it, then we can work out how we can maintain good oral health in this country for the long term."
What's the Government doing to help?
In their manifesto,The Labour Party unveiled a 'Dentistry Rescue Plan' which said they would:
-Fill the gap of appointments with an extra 700,000 urgent and emergency dental appointments a year
-Flood dental deserts with new dentistry graduates, with golden hellos of £20,000 for those who spend at least three years working in underserved areas
-Supervised toothbrushing for 3- to 5-year-olds, to prevent children forced to hospital to have their rotting teeth pulled out
-Reform of the dental contract, to rebuild NHS dentistry and make sure everyone who needs a dentist can get one.