Families struggle to get NHS dentist

Children’s doctors are calling for councils to give every child an equal opportunity to good dental health as a survey found that around one quarter of families had problems accessing free NHS dental care.

Meanwhile, only half of those who responded to the Mumsnet survey said they were aware of official advice recommending they take their child to the dentist before their first birthday. Over a third of five-year-olds every year are diagnosed with tooth decay, which is the most common single reason why children aged five to nine require admission to hospital.

Drelizabetho’sullivanofthe Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “Tooth decay is a horrible condition which causes toothache, cavities to develop in the teeth and sometimesabscesses. Totreat it, children often have to have their decayed tooth extracted and this is an expensive business, costing the NHS around £50m for those under the age of 19. The prospect of having an operation is often scary for children and the risks associated with them should not be underplayed.”

Rowan Davies, head of policy and campaigns at Mumsnet, said: ‘Finding out that your child has bad oral health or needs a filling can be a disappointing and even embarrassing moment for parents; it’s even worse if the problem has been compounded by difficulty accessing care.“