Portsmouth - Plan to 'varnish' kids' teeth to fight decay

Published Date: 09 September 2009
Children's teeth are to be varnished with fluoride in the battle against tooth decay in Portsmouth.
Health officials will launch a pilot project at up to three city schools in a bid to improve oral health among young people.
The scheme will involve painting pupils' teeth with small quantities of the varnish between two and four times a year.
Parents will be asked to give their consent, and will still be urged to ensure their children eat healthily, brush their teeth and visit the dentist regularly.
The schools which will take part have not yet been chosen. If the project is successful it could be rolled out citywide.
The move comes after figures revealed Portsmouth has one of the worst dental health records in the South East among children.
Children in the city have an average of 1.8 decayed or rotten teeth by the age of five.
Pupils at two thirds of city schools have more missing or rotten teeth than the national average by the time they start reception class.
Children in the catchment area of Somers Park Primary School in Somers Road, Southsea, have the worst dental health record with pupils having an average of 4.2 missing, decayed, filled or treated teeth when they start school.
Louise Bevan, public health development manager for NHS Portsmouth, said: 'There is a lot of evidence to show fluoride varnish is effective and as good as toothbrushing and other topical uses of fluoride such as mouthwash.
'But the advantage of fluoride varnish is that once it is on it is fixed. It is very easy to apply, completely painless and could be effective in supporting those most at risk.
'We know it can be effective but we need to know whether it's practical to deliver and acceptable to Portsmouth people.'
Health officials may eventually revisit controversial plans to fluoridate Portsmouth water supply.
However, they are awaiting the outcome of a judicial review into a decision by regional health officials to add fluoride to water in Southampton.
Ann Richards, from Hampshire Against Fluoridation, said: 'I applaud the efforts they are making to improve oral health. It's preferable to considering fluoridating the water supply and there is evidence that if fluoride is applied directly to the tooth it can do some good – if people want it.'
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TOOTHCAREPortsmouth last year produced a guide for parents of children aged six and under to help protect against tooth decay.
It states that children aged under three years should use toothpaste containing at least 1,000 parts-per-million of fluoride in line with Department of Health guidance.
Those aged between three and six years should use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste containing between 1,350 and 1,500 parts per million of fluoride.
Parents are urged to ensure their children brush their teeth last thing at night and on one other occasion daily under adult supervision.
They should spit out their toothpaste after brushing but not rinse their mouths.