'Frighteningly' high levels of dental decay in the North East says dentist

A report has revealed a quarter of parents in Teesside and County Durham say they 'forget' to brush their children's teeth because they are too busy.

Government figures reveal 665 kids aged 5 to 9 were in hospital for tooth extractions during 2023-24 across the region.

Paul Woodhouse, principal dentist at Grange Dental Practice in Norton, said: "I did a little survey and if every practice in the five mile radius where I work takes out the same number of teeth on kids that we do, that's 30 kids a day losing at least one tooth due to decay.

"The level of dental decay is frighteningly high in the North East. Poor oral health has always been linked to deprivation and I know particularly Middlesbrough is always top of the charts when it comes to deprivation sadly, but really it's a combination of lack of education for the parents and the kids, they're not instilled with how important looking after teeth is.

"People see baby teeth as disposable so if a kid gets decay on a baby tooth, no-one's that fussed about it but it kind of sets negative behaviour patterns. You've got families who genuinely can't afford to buy toothpaste and toothbrushes and they're literally living hand to mouth.

"The area that I work in, it's a flatline at a very high level unfortunately. We see a lot of dental decay more than we should see in adults and in kids. I refer to patients who come in without a hole or without a filling as unicorns. They don't exist that often in the North East sadly.

"When you've got 1,000 things going on in your life, you're tired and you're stressed and it's getting towards bedtime and your kids are playing up, people just let it go because they think they'll catch up on the morning. I totally understand that and I don't judge anyone for doing that because I've been banging my head against a brick wall arguing against with a five year-old who doesn't want to brush her teeth and screaming the place down. It's horrible."

The report from Ordo and the Dental Wellness Trust also shows 52 percent of parents highlight everyday hassles as the primary reason their children skip brushing their teeth.

Today is World Oral Health Day and 21 percent of parents say the entire dental education system is "inadequate."

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