UK - ONE in three Plymouth five-year-olds have suffered from tooth decay

ONE in three Plymouth five-year-olds have suffered from tooth decay, a shocking new report reveals.
City health experts said the scope of children's dental problems has improved but there is an urgent need for further action.
Outlining a citywide plan to tackle the issue, they said poor diet and 'sugar shock' from sweets are the number one culprits.
Plymouth's NHS Oral Health Strategy outlines a range of schemes including treating children's teeth with fluoride varnish, promoting oral health and improving access to dentists.
The latest figures show that around 7,500 Plymouth people are on the waiting list to access an NHS dentist regularly — with patients who registered in September currently being allocated a place.
The dental strategy states 29.1 per cent of five-year-olds surveyed in 2009 had suffered from obvious tooth decay — with only 11 per cent of decayed teeth filled.
It is less than the national average of 31 per cent, and significantly better than Plymouth's 2000 figure of 41.7 per cent.
Dr Gill Jones, Plymouth consultant in dental public health, said: "Things have got better — the city is doing well in many areas — but there's an urgent need for further improvement.

"This strategy is the ideal way forward, with prevention the key.
"Sugar is absolutely the culprit. Sugar at mealtimes is fine, but it's snacking in between when the damage is done.
"We have to help parents understand that sugar shock to teeth needs to be reduced.
"A lot of parents don't know how to clean their children's teeth properly — to clean them well twice a day.
"And we've got to get children used to coming into the dentist, giving them fluoride and brushing advice. It's about raising awareness."
The plans specifically target the city's poorer areas — such as the city centre, Stonehouse, Devonport, Stoke and Morice Town.
Children's tooth decay is up to 50 per cent worse in the most deprived areas than the least.
Plans include painting three to five year olds' teeth with fluoride varnish, promoting the use of fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash among all ages, smoking prevention, wider health education programmes and increasing access to dentists.
Fluoride compounds are used to strengthen teeth.
The report states that 55 per cent of Plymouth's population have accessed a dentist in the past two years — compared to 54 per cent across the South West and 55 per cent nationally.
The target is to increase the Plymouth figure to 65 per cent by March 2011.
Dr Jones said: "We would always like to have more but the dentists we have are excellent and work very hard to provide every bit of care they can.
"What we have to do is continue our emergency urgent care so nobody is in pain and move patients through the system more quickly.
"The dental school is helping with that by providing thousands of appointments."
She said schemes run by the Peninsula Dental School's Devonport facility, of which she is director of community-based dentistry, are already reaching out to more residents.