Today’s children have serious tooth decay

Today’s children have serious tooth decay
Date published: 23 April 2012
According to a recent ‘Tonight’ programme shown on ITV, a third of children in the UK have tooth decay by the time they start primary school.
Children under five years old are commonly having as many as fourteen milk teeth extracted and these hospital procedures are on the rise.
Thirty-six thousand hospital procedures to remove decayed teeth take place on children aged seventeen and under every year. Two-thirds of children under twelve years old require general anaesthetic in order to have their decayed teeth extracted, which is both traumatic for the child and expensive for the NHS. This accounts for ten to fifteen percent of all the anaesthesia given to children.
Currently one hundred children are admitted to hospital each month, which costs the NHS £2.8 billion per year.
Action for Sick Children devised the Dental Playbox Project in response to this issue. The aim is to increase understanding amongst parents and children of the importance of good dental care and regular visits to the dentist.
There are three main oral health messages that Action for Sick Children promotes and these three messages are being mirrored by the British Dental Health Foundation during its thirty-sixth annual oral health campaign, ‘National Smile Month 2012’.
During National Smile Month 2012 Action for Sick Children facilitators will be touring schools, nurseries and community centres, holding free sessions lasting up to an hour. To book a FREE Playbox Session, receive the newsletter, request a resource pack or for more information, email: dpbox@actionforsickchildren.org or call 01663 766 445.
National Smile Month 2012 is running this year from the 20 May until the 20 June, with co-ordinated events across the UK.

It isn't visiting dentists that is priority it is cutting down on unhealthy food and drink for good dental and physical health.