Teesside and North Yorkshire children's teeth suffering due to hygiene poverty
A study says kids are missing school due to oral hygiene problems
We are hearing how children's teeth are suffering because of hygiene poverty across Teesside and North Yorkshire.
A study has revealed one in five parents say their kids have missed school due to oral cleanliness problems.
Kate Stoker is from the Thirsk branch of the Hygiene Bank charity and she said: "The cost of living crisis has had enormous impact on household budgets, so for example diets may contain more sugary foods than normal so that impacts oral health and then when you add in the fact that many households can't even afford to buy toothbrushes and toothpaste, it's a dental distaster.
"One in four children over the past year have had deteriorating oral hygiene and one in five are missing school as a result, and unfortunately if you come from a deprived background you're twice as likely to have dental decay than those from areas that are least deprived, and that's going to have an immense amount of impact on physical and emotional health.
"Thousands of school days are lost each year as a result of dental problems, not to mention the pain and suffering that result from having these dental issues. It impacts their learning, their education and their social development. Parents have to take time off for dentist appointments, which if they're able to will help, but obviously some parents can't.
"Many teachers in primary and secondary schools are giving students toothbrushes and toothpaste to help them and they're worrying about them, because they can see it's having an impact on their emotional wellbeing and also their physical wellbeing."