Brush up on kids’ dental care
Study shows parents are in the dark over their babies’ teeth, writes LAURA MILNE
WHEN did you take your child for their first check-up at the dentist? When they were six months old? As a toddler? On starting school or older than that? If you’re confused about the right age then rest assured you are not alone.
Only 13 per cent of parents knew that they should get their baby’s teeth checked when they first start appearing, usually at around five or six months old, according to a recent survey for oral health firm Brush-Baby.
The poll also showed that 72 per cent of mothers say they have never seen any information on gum care for babies. Only one in 10 said they would get information on managing teething pain from their dentist.
“Sixty per cent of mothers think cleaning a baby’s gums or mouth is a good idea,” says Dominique Tillen of Brush-Baby (brushbaby.co.uk). “However, sadly, our survey shows that almost three-quarters have never seen any information on oral care for babies.”
Whatever many parents are doing to maintain their children’s teeth, it doesn’t appear to be working. The state of children’s dental health in the UK makes for depressing reading.
According to new NHS data, the vast majority of parents fail to take children to the dentist regularly. Eighty per cent of one and two-year-olds in England did not visit an NHS dentist last year. In those who did make it to the surgery for a check-up, tooth decay is soaring.
A quarter of all children starting school each year show signs of tooth decay. In the past two years there have been more than 34,000 tooth extractions per year in children under the age of nine. Indeed, it is the most common reason for children to be admitted to hospital for general anaesthetic.
Dental experts say a diet high in sugary food and drink, starting from an early age, is to blame. Sugar now makes up 15 per cent of the daily calories consumed by four to 10-year-olds.
In England, children and young people drink sugary soft drinks more often than anywhere else in Europe.
Dr Nigel Carter of the Oral Health Foundation describes the current situation as “utterly heartbreaking”. He says: “Every single one of these cases can be completely avoided with a good oral health routine. It’s vital that everybody understands this and takes steps to protect their children from as early an age as possible.”
There is currently limited official dental health advice for babies and poor knowledge of oral health among midwives, nurses and even many GPs, which means parents are often unaware of the risks, although
this is changing. The NHS “little red book”, which is issued to every parent when their baby is born, now has added information on how to look after a baby’s teeth and gums.
The Brush-Baby survey revealed 94 per cent of mothers believe that either GPs, health visitors or dentists are best placed to provide this type of advice and almost a quarter (22 per cent) say it should be the responsibility of health visitors.
HOWEVER Professor Liz Kay of the Peninsula Dental School at Plymouth University says it is ultimately the responsibility of parents to look after their child’s teeth and she advises that supervised brushing should continue until a child is at least eight years old.
“If parents and grandparents are not providing dental care and good oral health role models, then a child’s teeth are pretty much doomed,” she says.
Dr Carter advises that infants should be taken to the dentist as soon as teeth start to appear. “When it comes to visiting the dentist, it is a case of the earlier the better,” he says.
“You can even start before a baby’s teeth begin to appear by taking them along to your appointments so they can get used to the sights, sounds and smells at the dentist.” He adds: “Just like adults, looking after a baby’s teeth is relatively simple. Brush their teeth last thing at night and at least one other time during the day with a smear of toothpaste that has no less than 1,000ppm of fluoride. “Ensure that they do not have food and drink with sugar in too often and take them to visit the dentist regularly.”