NZ - 'Shocking' state of toddlers' teeth revealed
'Shocking' state of toddlers' teeth revealed
Published: 8:41AM Sunday January 20, 2013 Source: Fairfax
Toddlers as young as two years old are having all their teeth removed and hospitals are struggling to keep up with dental surgery as sugary drinks take a huge toll on children's teeth.
A new government report on dental care has for the first time revealed the full extent of the problem: 34,000 children under 14 had teeth removed due to decay or infection in 2012.
Dental surgery services are so stretched, there are reports of waiting lists of up to 100 children at some hospitals.
In the worst cases, dentists are forced to extract a mouthful of baby teeth from preschoolers, often because toddlers are given bottles of juice or fizzy drinks.
Top dentists have vented frustrations that severe tooth decay is one of the most common and costly diseases of children, yet also completely preventable.
Auckland children's dentist Nina Vasan - who treated a three-year-old with 10 cavities last week - said it's not just a disease of the poor. She treats children of all ages and demographics.
Vasan, a Kidz-teeth paediatrician, said parents are often shocked to discover the extent of the problem.
"Parents feel really guilty because it may have been a lack of their knowledge. Sometimes parents are crying and really upset because they feel they are to blame."
A condition dubbed "baby bottle teeth decay", midnight snacks and a lack of dental check-ups are all chipping away at children's teeth.
Vasan says most parents change their habits to stop decay recurring, but a Waikato Hospital dentist says some parents are not getting the message.
Waiting list
Senior dentist Graham Jull spends his day performing extractions and root canals on children suffering rampant decay and infection, yet the hospital's oral surgery department still has a waiting list of 100 children at any one time.
In some cases brothers and sisters return with the same horrifying problems.
Toddlers come in with teeth so rotten from sugar that they are no longer recognisable.
"Some of them have decayed right down to the gum level so it's just roots.....
Fluoridated NZ
Published: 8:41AM Sunday January 20, 2013 Source: Fairfax
Toddlers as young as two years old are having all their teeth removed and hospitals are struggling to keep up with dental surgery as sugary drinks take a huge toll on children's teeth.
A new government report on dental care has for the first time revealed the full extent of the problem: 34,000 children under 14 had teeth removed due to decay or infection in 2012.
Dental surgery services are so stretched, there are reports of waiting lists of up to 100 children at some hospitals.
In the worst cases, dentists are forced to extract a mouthful of baby teeth from preschoolers, often because toddlers are given bottles of juice or fizzy drinks.
Top dentists have vented frustrations that severe tooth decay is one of the most common and costly diseases of children, yet also completely preventable.
Auckland children's dentist Nina Vasan - who treated a three-year-old with 10 cavities last week - said it's not just a disease of the poor. She treats children of all ages and demographics.
Vasan, a Kidz-teeth paediatrician, said parents are often shocked to discover the extent of the problem.
"Parents feel really guilty because it may have been a lack of their knowledge. Sometimes parents are crying and really upset because they feel they are to blame."
A condition dubbed "baby bottle teeth decay", midnight snacks and a lack of dental check-ups are all chipping away at children's teeth.
Vasan says most parents change their habits to stop decay recurring, but a Waikato Hospital dentist says some parents are not getting the message.
Waiting list
Senior dentist Graham Jull spends his day performing extractions and root canals on children suffering rampant decay and infection, yet the hospital's oral surgery department still has a waiting list of 100 children at any one time.
In some cases brothers and sisters return with the same horrifying problems.
Toddlers come in with teeth so rotten from sugar that they are no longer recognisable.
"Some of them have decayed right down to the gum level so it's just roots.....
Fluoridated NZ
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