“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”
By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield
Kick The Habit
Hello again. I hope that you are well. Now then, last month a new report came out that I found disturbing. We are going backwards in child dental health. This particularly grates at me as in some remote parts of Morocco it is improving due to the ‘Teeth For Life Programme’ that Dental Mavericks have introduced, working with local communities.
So What’s The Habit?
The habit is SUGAR, too much to often. Even with good cleaning and Fluoride the balance is tipped in favour of dental decay when there is too much sugar. The other thing is that sugar is known to be worse than fat for obesity and heart disease as well as type 2 Diabetes.
What’s The Report Then?
NHS figures obtained by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) show there were 9,206 tooth extractions performed on children aged four and under in 2015-16, an increase of 24 per cent since 2006-07. The research by the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS), part of the RCS, is the first time long-term data for this age group had been published.
“When you see the numbers tallied up like this it becomes abundantly clear that the sweet habits of our children is having a devastating effect on the state of their teeth,” said Professor Nigel Hunt, Dean of the FDS.
Of the 84,086 tooth extractions on four-year-olds and under between 2006-07 and 2015-16, 47 were performed on babies under the age of one. The data is set against a 16% rise in the population of children aged four and under over the same period.
The Government has pledged to tackle childhood sugar consumption by means of the Soft Drinks Levy, scheduled to come into force in 2018, whereby manufacturers will be taxed for the amount of sugar they use in their products. However, Professor Hunt questioned whether the measure went far enough to successfully limit children’s exposure.
“Children can eat their daily amount of sugar at mealtimes with no problem, but constantly snacking between meals and bathing their teeth in fizzy drinks gives them no chance,” he said. “Removal of teeth, especially in hospital under general anaesthetic, it not to be taken lightly.”
Now This Bit Is Interesting
Professor Hunt added that people whose first contact with dentistry was when having a tooth removed were less likely to visit the dentist throughout their life.
Now this makes things like a spiral getting worse. We see quite a bit of this in Cottingham, usually associated with the old school dentist and a bad experience. This creates a programme that is running in the brain. Our job is to provide an update disc. It’s not easy sometimes but so rewarding when we see the change in dental health and confidence just coming to see us. It’s truly “Life Changing”. That’s where we get our “Buzz”.
You Can’t Win Sometimes
As well as allowing their children to consume food and drink which are obviously sugary, many parents feed their children fruit juices without realising that these also high sugar content.
Showing My Age
Did you notice that the sweets above are old fashioned ones from the 70’s and 80’s.
Going to Morocco again with Dental Mavericks in 2 weeks. I’ll let you know how we got on this time.
Until next time. Take care and be good.
Chris
