NHS drive to get children to see dentist at age one
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- Published: Thursday, 21 September 2017 08:31
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The Sunday Times has reported that parents will be urged to take their children to the dentist by the age of one, according to the chief dental officer, as part of an NHS drive to reduce high rates of tooth extractions among pre-school children. The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) and NHS England will this week launch a campaign, “Dental Check by One”.
Claire Stevens, the incoming President of BSPD said: “We know that 75% of dentists don’t fulfil their contracts so the funding aspect relates to 25% of the profession with NHS contracts who don’t have the capacity to see children. Guarantees have been given by the Office of the CDO that funding will be made available for these practices to see children and support DCby1. It was on this basis and given the widespread concerns around children’s oral health currently that BSPD is taking the opportunity to launch DCby1 nationally at its conference on Friday. Vulnerable members of our society need to be cared for and I believe the profession will get behind Dental Check by One and dentists in high street practices will be providing preventive advice that will make a difference.”
Sara Hurley, the chief dental officer for England, says infants should visit the dentist when their first teeth emerge, usually at around six months. She said: “It is crucial for children’s health that parents bring their toddlers to the dentist when their child’s first teeth appear.”
This week NHS England will promise that 70,000 more children under the age of two will see a dentist in the next year as part of a programme called Smile4Life. Sara Hurley is asking England’s 22,000 NHS dentists to see an additional four children under the age of two over the next year. Part of the NHS England and Department of Health campaign will be interventions in 13 local authority areas considered to be of high priority for childhood tooth decay.
The British Dental Association, however, says there is no extra funding available to pay for the proposed improvements in dental care for pre-school children. Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, the chairman of the general dental practice at the association, said: “We support any serious efforts to get more young children to a dentist, but launching a new initiative without clarity on funding and remuneration looks premature, and will obviously set real limits on what can be achieved.”
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