Sponsored by
Time to save kids' smiles
Do your children know how to brush their teeth properly? Many don't – and could be storing up big problems for the future.
In some cases, dental hygiene is so bad that children are needing treatment before they even start primary school.
Back in December we revealed shock figures showing that 43.9 per cent of children in Portsmouth and 32 per cent in Hampshire had some missing, decayed, or filled milk teeth as a result of bad dental hygiene.
Now Hampshire Community Health Care (HCHC) and Portsmouth Primary Care Trust (PCT) have launched a programme in which they visit schools, nurseries and breakfast clubs to teach youngsters how to brush their teeth.
Tracey Strowger from HCHC, which has launched the Saving Smiles campaign, says: 'We have piloted the scheme in one of the highest areas of decay, at Havant and we are developing it from there.
'It's already being extended to other areas and the project includes work at nursery schools, primaries and breakfast clubs.'
So far, 1,182 youngsters at schools and groups at Leigh Park – Sharps Copse Primary, Warren Park Primary, Barncroft Infant, Trosnant Infant and Junior and Waite End Primary – are taking part in the scheme. Arundel Court School in Portsmouth is set to start this term and other city schools, as well as some in Fareham and Gosport, are waiting to get involved.
Tracey says: 'In many cases, if you include after-school and breakfast clubs, some of these youngsters are in the care of the education system from 8am-6.30pm, so what we're doing is making sure that they brush their teeth while at school and that we teach them the best way to do it. We also offer dietary advice to reduce damage to teeth from food and drinks.'
Brushing teeth properly at home is also very important. Tracey adds: 'We give the youngsters parental advice packs, so that their mothers and fathers can read up and help them at home.'
Among the aims of Saving Smiles are:
- Increasing the use of toothpaste containing 1450pppm fluoride in homes
- Introducing daily supervised tooth brushing at school
- Offering treatment for tooth decay
- Helping families access dental services
- Improving family and child oral health knowledge
Schools with the highest rates of tooth decay have been targeted so far, but the scheme is available to any school interested in taking part.
Claire Petfield, head of dentistry, optometry and pharmacy at Portsmouth PCT explains: 'At Arundel Court School we will hold an open day in which staff will go in to teach youngsters about how to brush. But it's not just for those in areas with high rates of decay. These are useful things for everyone to learn.
'We are also teaching youngsters about the damage of snacking on high sugar foods and drinks, with fizzy sugary drinks and even stronger fruit juices a problem.
'It's OK to have something like this at meal times, but no more often than that. Water and milk are much better options for the teeth.
'We also offer a dental service at school. If youngsters can have issues treated there and then, our dental staff will do that. If not, we make sure they get treatment elsewhere as soon as possible.'
Sarah Hartridge, clinical director for The School of Professionals Complementary to Dentistry at the University of Portsmouth, says: 'Decay is a preventable disease. That's what makes the figures all the more shocking. The messages don't really get across that well.
'We have to make sure parents are brushing their children's teeth twice a day and also make sure they are supervising them up until the age of seven. That message needs to get across.
'They also need to make sure they use fluoride toothpaste. Parents think that fruit juices and squash drinks are acceptable, but the only safe ones to drink between meals are milk and water. That's often what parents fail to accept.'
Putting fluoride in water is controversial
In the next year, Southampton will fluoridate its water supply – adding fluoride to its drinking water – despite opposition from Hampshire County Council.
The measure, which can be requested by NHS managers, is thought to improve dental health for up to a third of the population. But it also has its opponents and in Southampton led to protests from concerned members of the public.
Peter Richards, from the Hampshire Against Fluoridation group, says: 'The proposers of fluoridation will say that it strengthens the tooth enamel. But it can cause discolouration of the teeth and almost half of children could get fluoride poisoning from it.
'The difference with fluoride toothpaste and fluoride in the water is that people have the choice about whether to use it or not.'
Portsmouth and Hampshire health chiefs will not be introducing a similar scheme in their war on tooth decay – though neither have ruled it out for the future.
Tracey Stowger said: 'In this instance, Southampton is like a flagship for fluoridation. I think it's fair to say there are a lot of eyes on them now, to see how their scheme works.
'But in Birmingham, for example, where they have had fluoride in the water for 40 years, there are still pockets of the city with well above average rates of decay, so there's no clear guarantee as of yet.'
And for Keith Percival, who was a dental practitioner in Gosport before devoting his time his role as secretary at Hampshire and Isle of Wight dental committee, there are more pressing issues. He says: 'I think the major issues in Portsmouth at least are that there are too few people visiting their dentist and this is something we have to address.
'In some cases we have very poor access to surgeries and in others there are things we can do to make visits to the dentist easier. Through research, for example, we have found many younger people prefer to have a kind of dental drop-in centre rather than a set appointment service, so that's something we might be able to look at.
'But there are areas in the city and Hampshire as a whole which are worrying in terms of youngsters' dental hygiene and schemes like those run by the PCT and Community Healthcare have our full support. We welcome them very much.'
GAPS SHOW IN DENTAL CARE
The average child in our area has 1.6 decayed or rotten teeth by the time they are five years old
Rates are worst at Somers Park Primary School in Somers Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, where reception aged children have an average 4.23 decayed, missing, filled or treated teeth
Pupils at two thirds of city schools have more missing or rotten teeth than the national average by the time they start primary school.
In south-east Hampshire pupils at Sharpse Copse Primary School in Propect Lane, Havant, are the worst affected, with four to five-year-olds having an average 3.03 dcayed, missing filled or treated teeth. But health officials would only release details of reception classes in the area with 20 or more pupils and insist blame should not be laid at the feet of schools themselves.
Whiteley Primary School in Gull Coppice, Whiteley,Fareham, is the best performing in the area, with an average only 0.45 decayed, missing, filled or treated teeth per child in the age bracket.
Queen Alexandra Hospital's Poswillo Dental Care Unit has carried out more than 4,000 extractions, mainly on baby teeth, in the past 12 months.
Of 1,008 cases treated under general anaesthetic at the clinic, 873 were children.
HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR TEETH
The NHS, Hampshire Community Healthcare and Portsmouth's Primary Care Trust offer the following advice on how to brush teeth to ensure they are as clean as possible.
- Clean teeth thoroughly for two minutes twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.
- The Department of Health recommends toothpaste containing 1,450 parts per million of fluoride. This information can be found on the tube and family toothpaste normally contains this amount.
- You only need a small amount – a smear for children under two, a pea-sized amount for everyone else – though a children's toothpaste should be used by youngsters aged seven or less.
Children's toothbrushes should have soft to medium bristles and a small head, which also makes it easier to brush back teeth.
- Make sure the bristles of the brush point at your gums' edge at a 45-degree angle.
- The bristles should touch both the tooth and gum.
- Gently brush the outside tooth surfaces of 2-3 teeth using a backwards and forwards movement. Move the brush to the next group of 2-3 teeth and do it again.
- Tilt the brush upright behind the front teeth. Brush up and down using the front half of the brush.
- Do this for the top and bottom front teeth.
Brush the biting surface of your teeth using a gentle back and forth movement.
- Brush your tongue from back to front to remove bacteria that causes bad breath.
Change your toothbrush every 3 months, or after you have had a cold, flu, or cold sore.
- After brushing, spit don't rinse!
- Avoid sugary snacks and drinks in between meals.
- Visit the dentist at least once a year.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Portsmouth
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -1 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 5 mph
Wind direction: North east
