Chief dental officer impressed by imaginative schemes to prevent tooth decay

Chief dental officer impressed by imaginative schemes to prevent tooth decay
8:10am Wednesday 8th July 2009By Barbara Jordan »
IMAGINATIVE projects to tackle alarming levels of child tooth decay were commended this week by the country’s chief dental officer.
Barry Cockcroft visited Widnes to see for himself the range of initiatives being put in place by Halton’s health chiefs.
Keith Milsom, consultant in dental public health with NHS Halton & St Helens, said: “We have the worst dental health than anywhere else in the country.
“Mr Cockcroft was particularly impressed by the engagement we have with dental professionals and the enthusiasm we have for delivering evidence based preventative activity.
“We will be measuring the dental health of children in three years to see if our measures have been successful.”
Too much sugar intake, symptomatic of disadvantaged areas, he said, has caused the problem.
Free tubes of fluoride toothpaste and toothbrushes were sent to 30,000 children aged between three and 11. This will be repeated every six months over the next two years.
Extra capacity has also been secured in dental surgeries to ensure all children receive free treatment.

Wow, no mention of fluoridation. Another worst case in the country - how many are there? Why can't Southampton use these methods to lower decay rates?