Scotland - Child dental health concerns Apr 25 2007
Child dental health concerns Apr 25 2007
By Lisa Boyle
MORE than 42 per cent of children in the region have tooth decay by the time they go to primary school.
A new survey carried out by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry shows that 184 out of 439 five-year-olds in the region have tooth decay.
And the study also showed that only one in ten children of the same age have access to an NHS dentist.
The worrying figures come despite significant investment by the region’s health board to improve dental health, particularly among children.
The figures in the report contrast information in a 2004-05 national dental inspection agency report which found that only 33 per cent of primary seven children had tooth decay compared to the Scottish average of 47 per cent, suggesting that children are prone to taking better care of their adult teeth. Dentist Philip Brown, of the Nith Place Dental Surgery in Dumfries said: “Tooth decay in children is a significant problem in Dumfries and Galloway and across Scotland.
“Unfortunately it tends to follow socio-economic lines. Certain groups, like poorer families, tend to have a lot of decay.
“Of course, diet is a huge factor. There tends to be a high intake of sugar in this area and there is low fluoride content in the water.
“The Scottish Executive gave us DVDs to give out to patients but that has only been in the last few weeks. It is very useful but we have not yet seen the benefit from it. Many nurseries in the region have started tooth brush schemes which is useful as long as it is carried on right through primary school.
“Poor access to dental services in this region also adds to the problem.”
A spokesperson for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said: “We continue to make good progress in improving dental health in children.
The board continues to support various initiatives which include:
giving out dental health packs for infants aged from six to eight months;
supervised fluoride toothbrushing schemes in nursery schools and in primary one and primary two classes in various primary schools;
investment in healthy eating and improved diet schemes in schools;
raising awareness of preventative measures amongst parents and children and promotion of good oral hygiene;
developing an oral health strategy.
The local health board has also recruited 15 new dentists in the past two years, including five who were brought here from Poland in June last year.
A new £4million dental centre at DGRI will be operational by January 2008.
The new centre will provide training for dental undergraduates, dental therapists and post qualification training for newly qualified dentists as well as additional dental services.
“Unfortunately it tends to follow socio-economic lines. Certain groups, like poorer families, tend to have a lot of decay." Same old sad story, I wonder if knowledge of the thesecret.tv/movie/trailer Could improve their life?
By Lisa Boyle
MORE than 42 per cent of children in the region have tooth decay by the time they go to primary school.
A new survey carried out by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry shows that 184 out of 439 five-year-olds in the region have tooth decay.
And the study also showed that only one in ten children of the same age have access to an NHS dentist.
The worrying figures come despite significant investment by the region’s health board to improve dental health, particularly among children.
The figures in the report contrast information in a 2004-05 national dental inspection agency report which found that only 33 per cent of primary seven children had tooth decay compared to the Scottish average of 47 per cent, suggesting that children are prone to taking better care of their adult teeth. Dentist Philip Brown, of the Nith Place Dental Surgery in Dumfries said: “Tooth decay in children is a significant problem in Dumfries and Galloway and across Scotland.
“Unfortunately it tends to follow socio-economic lines. Certain groups, like poorer families, tend to have a lot of decay.
“Of course, diet is a huge factor. There tends to be a high intake of sugar in this area and there is low fluoride content in the water.
“The Scottish Executive gave us DVDs to give out to patients but that has only been in the last few weeks. It is very useful but we have not yet seen the benefit from it. Many nurseries in the region have started tooth brush schemes which is useful as long as it is carried on right through primary school.
“Poor access to dental services in this region also adds to the problem.”
A spokesperson for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said: “We continue to make good progress in improving dental health in children.
The board continues to support various initiatives which include:
giving out dental health packs for infants aged from six to eight months;
supervised fluoride toothbrushing schemes in nursery schools and in primary one and primary two classes in various primary schools;
investment in healthy eating and improved diet schemes in schools;
raising awareness of preventative measures amongst parents and children and promotion of good oral hygiene;
developing an oral health strategy.
The local health board has also recruited 15 new dentists in the past two years, including five who were brought here from Poland in June last year.
A new £4million dental centre at DGRI will be operational by January 2008.
The new centre will provide training for dental undergraduates, dental therapists and post qualification training for newly qualified dentists as well as additional dental services.
“Unfortunately it tends to follow socio-economic lines. Certain groups, like poorer families, tend to have a lot of decay." Same old sad story, I wonder if knowledge of the thesecret.tv/movie/trailer Could improve their life?
posted by Bill at
8:58 AM
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