Dental surgeons are calling for all schools to go sugar-free in a bid to combat the growing problem of child tooth decay.
Tooth decay is now the main reason children between the ages of five and nine are admitted to hospital. Analysis from the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) at the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) showed that there were more than 100,000 hospital submissions for tooth decay over a three year period.
They have asked for supervised tooth brushing in schools before 2022 and guidelines on what a healthy lunch looks like. They also produced a report with 12 recommendations on how to help get rid of tooth decay. Some of their suggestions included:
- All schools in England having supervised teeth-brushing schemes before 2022 (schools in Scotland and Wales already do this).
- All schools becoming “sugar-free”
- Putting a price increase on sugary dairy drinks, like milkshakes.
- Reducing the number of TV adverts and marketing campaigns there are for sugary food and drink.
- Lowering the sugar content in baby foods.
Professor Michael Escudier, dean of the FDS said: “It is incredibly worrying that levels of tooth decay among children in England remain so high”
“Everyone needs to play their part in ensuring our children have healthy, happy teeth.”
Mick Armstrong, chair of the British Dental Association (BDA), also added that it will take “more than warm words” to stop decades of progress on children’s oral health from going into reverse.
“It’s a scandal that tooth decay remains the number one reason for child hospital admissions.”
“We will not see real progress until Ministers start going further and faster on prevention.”
The BDA believes one of the big reasons children don’t visit the dentist is because many parents are unaware that dental check-ups and treatments for under-18s are free. Figures show that 41% of under-18s didn’t visit an NHS dentist at all last year.
Envisage Dental TV can be a great way of educating your patients on oral health. For example, why not inform your clients about dental health check-ups for under 18s being free at NHS practices?
We also have a range of content to help educate parents on tooth decay and the importance of reducing child sugar intake in our media library. This includes videos from Change4Life which encourage parents to swap sugary snacks for healthier alternatives.
For more information about using Envisage Dental TV to educate your patients on improving child oral health, please contact us on 0114 399 0019, or email enquiries@numed.co.uk.
