Give free toothbrushes to toddlers, say BMA
The British Medical Association have issued fresh calls to the government, raising concerns over childhood tooth decay. The organisation are pushing for all children under the age of five to be given free toothbrushes.
In order to tackle rising rates of decay across the country, the British Medical Association want all toddlers to be given free toothbrushes. This comes in the wake of doctors’ warnings that the country is facing a complete “dental crisis” as more and more under fives require surgery and hospitalisation for preventable oral health problems. The BMA have also suggested the use of warnings on the packaging of sugary food items reminiscent of the warnings on cigarettes, but aimed at toddlers. Under the new law, snacks containing large amounts of sugar would depict rotten teeth on their packaging and would carry multiple health warnings.
Following the British Medical Association’s annual conference, concerns were repeatedly raised by doctors over the problem of childhood tooth decay. Many doctors said that they had seen extensive cases of decay at increasingly younger ages.
In the last two years, more than thirty thousand children under the age of nine have had teeth removed under general aesthetic, according to Dr Iain Kennedy, Chair of the BMA’s public health committee. Of these cases, a shocking eighteen thousand involved children under the age of five, a situation Dr Kennedy went on to describe as ‘shocking’.
The BMA has also suggested the implementation of compulsory lessons in dental hygiene that would be included in primary school curriculums nationwide, in addition to the new toothbrush scheme.
