A SURVEY this week has revealed that a staggering 2 in 3 children in Wales have unhealthy teeth. In England 39% of children were shown to have healthy teeth in the Health and Social Care Information Centre report, undertaken since 1973 that measures oral heath in children every ten years.
Decay was found in 52% of 12 year olds and 63% of 15 year olds. Alarmingly, 41% of five year old children were found to have decay, with 55% of eight year olds shown to have decay. Of the most common problems were sensitive teeth, mouth ulcers, bad breath, toothache and bleeding gums, with toothache being more problematic for children from deprived families. In terms of visiting a dentist, more encouragingly 90% of older children were shown to be examined in the past 12 mon ths.
Of some concern is the fact that parents are now finding it a lot more difficult to find an NHS dentist than they did in 2003. Since 2009 the Welsh government has invested over £12m in encouraging better dental health amongst young children.
Plaid Mid and West AM Simon Thomas said: “In Government, Plaid Cymru introduced the ‘Designed to Smile’ preventative scheme which almost 60 per cent of children aged three to six years old took part in last year. We also recruited 200 extra dentists during our period in the Welsh Government. However, from these figures it is obvious more still needs to be done to educate both parents and children on the importance of taking care of their teeth and gums.”
However, in response, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “This survey includes a relatively high proportion of children who live in disadvantaged areas and who generally have the poorest oral health. In 2008, we set up Designed to Smile, our programme to improve the dental health of children, which is targeted at those with the greatest oral health needs. While it is too soon to gauge the full impact of Designed to Smile,
“Our most recent monitoring survey showed a 6% drop in the proportion of five-year-olds with dental decay. However, there is more to do to improve the dental health of children in Wales especially since the vast majority of tooth decay is avoidable.
“Parents can help their children by reducing sugar intake and encouraging them to brush their teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. Today, the first survey of the dental health of three-year-olds has been published by Cardiff University. It shows that among those children with decay, the average number of teeth affected by decay in Wales (2.9) was similar to the English average (3.1) and lower than the North West of England (3.3).”
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