Charity Chief Demands Politicians Back Dental Playbox Project For Sake Of Children’s Health

STOCKPORT, U.K. - March 23, 2015 - PRLog -- A children’s charity chief has made a pre General Election plea to politicians to join her national battle for better child dental care after a survey revealed nearly half of eight year olds and a third of five year olds have signs of decay in their milk teeth.

Val Jackson, chief executive with national children’s charity Action for Sick Children said she had been stunned by the results of the latest Dental Health Survey of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which also found 46 per cent of 15 year olds had decay in their teeth.

Miss Jackson, speaking from her High Lane, Stockport HQ said: “Although there was a slight improvement in the results compared with those of the last survey ten years ago, the findings are extremely worrying and frustrating.

“Frustrating because I believe Action for Sick Children can help solve the problem of poor child dental care via the Dental Playbox project which we introduced to schools and nurseries in Cheshire and parts of the North West a few years ago.

“The Dental Playbox uses children’s stories and puppets to teach youngsters the basics of good dental care as well as allaying fears of a visit to the dentist. It has had a significant impact on child dental health which is why we are currently planning to offer its benefits to schools and nurseries in Yorkshire in the near future thanks to a £30,000 donation.

“However, I am still frustrated because child dental care is a national problem and we should be tackling the root cause - a lack of appropriate dental hygiene education on a nation-wide basis.

“That’s why I am writing to the leaders of the main political parties to demand that they seriously consider funding a national Dental Playbox initiative which has the capacity to reduce the cost of child dental care in years to come.”

Nearly 10,000 children were surveyed in the Dental Health Survey which is carried out every ten years. Overall the figures were encouraging with reductions in tooth decay in the permanent teeth of 12 and 15 year olds.

However, figures from 2014 found that 32% of children aged five had tooth decay. Among children aged 10-11 around 28% were affected.

But large proportions of young and teenage children continue to be affected by oral disease across the UK.

The survey found that rates of tooth decay were much higher among children in more deprived families, where more than 40% of five-year-olds have some decay - compared with just 29% among better-off families.

In 15-year-olds, that figure rises to nearly 60%, while among those from wealthier backgrounds, it is 43%.

Dr Sandra White, director of dental public health at Public Health England welcomed the improved figures but said there was no room for complacency.

Miss Jackson added:”The Dental Playbox has proved effective in teaching children to take care of their teeth. It has the potential to help children nation-wide and I am committed to make its benefits available to all children.”

For further information click onto: www.actionforsickchildren.org.uk

ENDS