A thought provoking programme highlighting the shocking state of children's dental health in the UK. It is the main reason why children are taken to A&E, which to me is a shocking statistic. 14 years of Tory Government just sat back and watched NHS dentistry hit rock bottom. However, what annoyed me as much as the Government's mismanagement were the parents of some of these children. So many of them did not have a toothbrush at home so never cleaned their teeth. Early years education staff are spending time showing children how to use a toothbrush. I feel for these teachers and their assistants who not only have to deal with an ever increasing number of children who are still in nappies and cannot use a knife and fork and are now adding dental care to their workload.
Neglect and abuse. Taking an 11 year old child to a dentist and allowing him to take all their teeth out when there was no need is child abuse.
Kate1949
Parents have no idea what they are doing to their children when they neglect their teeth. I will never forgive mine. There is no excuse.
👏👏👏
GrannyGravy13
The one near us closed for the same reason.
There are lots of groups in our area to support parents and children, from baby and toddler, children with various SEND, school anxiety, etc.
I despair that parents don’t know about cleaning teeth, their own or their children’s.
It’s a form of neglect.
Parents have no idea what they are doing to their children when they neglect their teeth. I will never forgive mine. There is no excuse.
SusieB50
Sure start were good at this ! Community dental nurses did fun sessions with parents and children in the Sure Starts when I was working.Lets hope we begin to get back to having something similar.
There are still 2,204 Sure Start Centres in England.
The one local to me is in danger of closing due to lack of use
Sure start were good at this ! Community dental nurses did fun sessions with parents and children in the Sure Starts when I was working.Lets hope we begin to get back to having something similar.
Anniebach
Parents cannot be made to teach their children to brush their teeth,
More’s the pity.
Parenting should be a normal part of every school curriculum at least at primary school level.
Whatever the deeper issues, it's reasonable to assume they could be addressed in an appropriate way, since it is the children who will suffer the fallout.
Andrea Leadsom was being interviewed on tv yesterday and said how important oral health was for both parents and children. And yet the interviewer didn’t question her about the way NHS dentistry has been run down over the past 14 years.
Parents cannot be made to teach their children to brush their teeth,
paddyann54
Dental check ups are free for everyone in Scotland and dental treatment is free for up to 26 year olds and pregnant and nursing mothers.Its the prevention is better than the cost of the cure system…bad dental health can lead to other very costly NHS treatments .
This way there’s the chance people will realise that dental health and good nice teeth areimportant to them
It’s looking after new generations to avoid. A pile up further down the road not the Westminster way at all!
Dental care is free for under 18’s in England.
It is free for pregnant women and one year following the birth of their baby.
It is also free for those receiving benefits.
The problem is with the Dentists contracts introduced in 2006, which need updating.
MissAdventure
I still maintain its symptomatic of much deeper issues.
I think you’re right, but whether your deeper issues are the same as mine is a different matter.
Yes Sarnia horrific. That poor child. Young as I was I knew my life was going to be difficult from that day. Laughed at, bullied, called names. Unforgivable by my parents.
Kate1949
It's nothing new although I hoped we had moved on. We never had toothbrushes. I had all my teeth taken out aged 11 through neglect. It was horrendous.
On this programme, Kate1949 a paediatrician said she had extracted 18 teeth from a little boy. His age only have 20 to start with. As you say, horrendous and on many levels too.
I'm quite amazed at the amount of "junk" the children that have moved into my neighbourhood have.
It seems a never ending cycle of drinks, sweets, cakes and anything else they can fit in.
I wouldn't like to be a judgmental old bat, but I am one.
I've honestly never seen anything like it.
My DD works as a learning support in a secondary school, she is horrified at the school meals available for the students to buy. Sticky cakes drinks and biscuits along with unhealthy meals. When she questioned the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables available she was told -the kids wouldn’t eat them and food would be wasted. My GD had nearly finished her first year in secondary school and has had her first filling, much to DD disappointment. GD of course buys the cakes etc and it’s all paid by fingerprint touch , the bill sent to the parents so no control possible!
I work in early years, there may be iproblems with NHS dentistry but that is not the main issue with childrens teeth. It is indeed a good idea for the government to improve NHS dentistry, it would be even better for them to look at safeguarding issues.
Whilst I do agree about the current state of NHS dentists, I do hold parents equally responsible! A huge rise in the consumption of sugary drinks and foods, with poor regular tooth hygiene has led to this shocking state of affairs. The first time I was out with my children, actually in McDonald’s, as a treat, my children had water and I saw a woman putting coke into a toddlers bottle!!!
If parents taught their children how to brush their teeth, (and do it for them when they are too young to do it themselves), plus cutting down on sweet, sugary food and drink, there wouldn’t be such a problem.
Doesn’t alter the fact there aren’t enough NHS dentists, but it would be a good foundation for healthier teeth.
Dental check ups are free for everyone in Scotland and dental treatment is free for up to 26 year olds and pregnant and nursing mothers.Its the prevention is better than the cost of the cure system…bad dental health can lead to other very costly NHS treatments .
This way there’s the chance people will realise that dental health and good nice teeth areimportant to them
It’s looking after new generations to avoid. A pile up further down the road not the Westminster way at all!
I still maintain its symptomatic of much deeper issues.
My parents were incredibly hard up but they taught me how to clean my teeth and bought toothpaste and brushes. The school dentist visited although not very often by my recollection, but I wasn't taken to the dentist until I was about 9 or 10.
It's down to parents to introduce teeth cleaning from toddlerhood. Yes, there should be more dentists, that's a different issue, but the initial introduction to cleaning teeth used to come from parents.
It's nothing new although I hoped we had moved on. We never had toothbrushes. I had all my teeth taken out aged 11 through neglect. It was horrendous.
I can remember that happening when I was a child, though, in the 70s.
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