Around half of young British kids are suffering from bad tooth decay, new dental survey has found.
According to the 2013 Children Dental Health Survey, 34 per cent of 12-year-olds and 46 per cent of 15-year-olds are too embarrassed to smile or laugh due to bad tooth decay.
The survey of more than 13,500 children and nearly 10,000 dental examinations, commissioned by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, found that there’s a large gap between the dental health of the richest and the poorest children.
Around 40 per cent of five year olds from poor families had tooth decay, compared with 29 per cent from good-income families. In addition, 59 per cent of 15 year olds from poor families had tooth decay, as compared to 43 per cent from better off families.
Commenting on the survey report, the British Dental Association’s scientific adviser, Prof Damien Walmsley, said the data “confirms that we are still looking at an oral health gap in Britain”.
He added: “It’s a scandal that a child’s postcode or their parents’ income still determine whether they will grow up with healthy smiles or rotten teeth.
Levels of tooth decay in children have fallen since 2003, when 43 per cent of 12-year-olds and 56 per cent of the 15-year-olds were found to have dental cavity.
Experts claim that lack of brushing, or access to a dentist for regular check-ups and consumption of too much of fruit juice, which can contain lots of sugar, can be blamed for children’s bad dental health.
“Although relatively small numbers of children say they consume sugary drinks frequently, there is no room for complacency since excessive intake of sugary foods and drinks are the main cause of tooth decay and the much-reported rise in obesity,” Prof Walmsley added.
“These inequalities are persistent, but avoidable, and both parents and government must accept their share of responsibility. We need to send clear signals on brushing, on sugar and on fluoride if we are finally going to bridge this gap.”
The 2013 Children’s Dental Health (CDH) Survey is the fifth in a series of national children’s dental health surveys which is carried out every ten years beginning from 1973.
