1 in 7 British toddlers thought to have tooth decay
1 in 7 British toddlers suffer from tooth decay, new research has suggested, with 14% of 3-year old children have at least one decayed, missing, or filled tooth.
The author of the study, Maria Morgan from Cardiff University, said that many people are unaware that they need to start cleaning their child’s teeth at an early age. Neglecting oral health not only increases the risk of tooth decay in younger children, but also elevates the risk of health and oral complications further down the line. It’s unfortunately not uncommon for dentists to see children of only 5 or 6 years of age who need up 10 teeth removing in one go as a result of extensive decay.
Ms Morgan said that dental care is often not a priority when you’re bringing up very young children, which is causing increasing rates of decay. Approximately 8,000 children are having teeth extracted under general anaesthetic every year.
Researchers analysed data collected from 1,400 parents, three-quarters of whom stated that their child brushed their teeth twice a day; however, this meant that a quarter of children didn’t. Dentists are worried that parents avoid teeth cleaning with their children because they assume that it’s not important to take care of baby teeth as they naturally fall out; however, decay can develop a lot earlier than the teeth are scheduled to fall out, and losing teeth prematurely can increase the risk of dental problems later on in life.
