Fall in Child Dental Checks During Lockdown Sparks Fears of Generation With Poor Dental Health
The number of child dental checks halved during the past year of lockdowns compared to 2019, sparking fears that millions of children could now face a lifetime of rotten teeth and may need operations. The Telegraph has the story.
NHS figures show the number undergoing check-ups fell by 50% during the first year of the pandemic, with the worst trends seen among the youngest age groups.
In total, the number of under-15s who saw a dentist fell from 5.8 million to 2.9 million – a fall of half in just in one year.
This means less than three in ten children underwent checks, compared with nearly six in ten the year before.
The youngest children were least likely to have had check ups, with many likely to have never seen a dentist at all, experts said.
There were just 468,000 appointments for under-5s in 2020, a 60% fall from almost 1.2 million the year before, the figures show. This means just one in seven children under the age of five saw a dentist last year – compared with one in three in 2019.
Dentists said the lack of check-ups in the early years could leave a generation at risk of tooth decay, and forced to endure hospital operations, which could have been avoided with preventive care.
Tooth decay is already the most common reason for children aged five to nine to be admitted to hospital, with many enduring surgery under anaesthetic for want of preventive care earlier.
Latest annual figures show the number of admissions are twice those for acute tonsillitis, among children aged five to nine.
The new figures show millions of children have missed basic dental checks and treatment since the start of the pandemic.
“The current situation is truly shocking.” says Dr Saul Konviser, from the charity Dental Wellness Trust.
“Even before the pandemic, tooth decay amongst children was extremely worrying but the events of the past eighteen months have exacerbated things massively.
“Amongst some of the children that needed fillings, they now need extractions. The list of emergency appointments is growing by the day as we are scrambling to catch up.”
Worth reading in full.
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But lockdown still doubleplusgood, right?
It’s not just kids that are suffering. Dental care in the UK has been abysmal for years. Son (21) has been doing his own temporary fillings because there is no nhs surgery in Kent that will see him. He could go private but they want almost £100 for an initial check up before they even think about treatment. He just doesn’t have that kind of money.
Can’t altogether blame zombie parents this time. Bloody dentists were forced to shut their doors to everybody, even if they didn’t want to.
Our local dentist carried on seeing private patients but told nhs ones that “due to Covid, etc,etc”.
Abnormal service is resumed.
Yes precisely. Last year I had a tiny piece of popcorn stuck between my teeth(!) that caused me an agonising amount of pain and swelling. Could not get a NHS appointment (even at my childhood dentists as they couldn’t be bothered to dig out my paper records) but plenty of private places were happy to treat me.
Am currently pregnant so supposed to be a priority but we’ll see…
Hope all goes well with your pregnancy (and your dental treatment).
Another consequence is that there could be an increase in admissions for endocarditis. There’s a clear link between poor dental health and endocarditis, the bacteria from the mouth can get into the bloodstream and then infect the heart valves.
Good point!
I wonder how that will interract with the spike protein from the coming childhood “vaccinations”.
This whole country has despicable dental health, always has. Everyone knows good general health is strongly associated with good oral health.
Dentists in the USA were up and running 6 months before the Uk dentists were “allowed” to open. Today our dentist still refuses to do a cleaning that may involve splash.
Similar story…..Anyone seen a GP lately? They still are not “allowed” to see their patients in person. I think we all know how this is going to end. And it will not be in their patient’s best interest.
Soon, no see dentist without digital ID.
Doubtful if children have cleaned their teeth properly and eaten wholesome food.
Of course some parents will not follow a healthy routine but we have become far too reliant on others for out own health. It needs to change
It will just be another excuse for the powers that be to introduce fluoride to the water.
Slightly off topic, but my bed wetting NHS dentist (not possible to see until recently since back in March 2020) says he can’t do my normal thorough clean (always paid for as a private patient rather than via NHS) as ‘it’s far too dangerous during a pandemic’. Anyone else encountered this? I’m having some fillings repaired, surely by that argument this treatment is equally or more dangerous?
Sorry to hear that it is soooooo difficult to see a dentist – opticians too i am led to believe.
Prior to me leaving Thailand to come here I made an appointment at my dentist on the Monday – got seen on the Tuesday and also teeth cleaning and an x-ray. Total cost 30 quid. Alot cheaper than in the uk.
Thanks, I’ve seen your posts before – are you by any chance JW who used to work for YTB? Would be an amazing coincidence.
I had a thorough clean at my private dentist 9 months ago.
I thought it was probably just an excuse as I’ve never had confidence in this NHS dental surgery. Once I’ve had the three fillings (a month wait and refuses to do in one appointment) I’ll again be signing up with a private dentist, assuming that I can find one locally who’s accepting new patients. I’ve come to the conclusion the NHS is unfit for purpose. However even a private hospital has now refused me a very minor surgical procedure costing about £800 unless I pay £75 for a PCR test and self-isolate for three days beforehand, consequently I’ve refused to take part in their charade.
As the government is hellbent on destroying everything in this country its hardly surprising is it? What is shocking is the number of people who think this government cares!
Yes indeed: the only thing this government is good at is being very, very bad.
My wife has toothache. Her dentist told her that because she’d not had a check up for 2 years they’d taken her off their NHS list and wouldn’t reinstate her as they weren’t accepting new NHS patients. That she wasn’t ‘new’ and hadn’t had a check-up because the NHS wasn’t doing them cut no ice and that, even if she was on a dwindling NHS list, they could only do emergency NHS work: no fillings, no crowns, just teeth removal and abscess treatment.
I rang my dentist, a private one, but she can’t be taken on and seen within 3 months as he’s been inundated with people refusing to stay with other dentists who’ve kicked them off NHS lists.
I had similar toothache 9 months ago. I paid through the nose due to his losses and costs from the mandated Covid precautions. I can’t take the money with me, but I resent the stupidity and lack of control.
NHS dentistry was dying before Covid. The government’s actions are hastening its demise.
I think the government would like NHS dentistry to die. To be fair, some other countries with state-run healthcare, like Canada and Denmark, only have private dental services. I think the best policy might be to increase the incomes of very poor people so that they can just about afford private dental treatment. It does seem that if all treatment is private the fees come down somewhat compared to the UK.
In my limited experience, if you eat very healthily, and get all the essential vitamins, especially D, the dental problems go away (touch wood). Dentists should be educating patients on this, not drilling and filling. Unfortunately, dentists are paid piecework so the financial incentive is to treat patients more than necessary.
I wonder how much toxic fluoride has been slipped into the water supply by stealth? Added fluoride causes skeletal fluorosis and damages the enamel of young teeth… but lets blame Covid…again.
I think they will have to obtain permission to add it. The private water companies may not be keen, i.e. because of perceived liability risks. The NHS will have to indemnify the water company (well well, sounds like vaccines).
Years ago, some people and I were campaigning against a fluoridation proposal from the health authority. We discovered at the time that fluoridated Birmingham had poorer dental health than unfluoridated East Anglia. I’ve no idea if it’s still true, but it seemed that fluoridation wasn’t that bright an idea if Birmingham’s dental health didn’t even match that of an unfluoridated region.
Would offering vitamin D tablets to all the population be a better idea? (Mine cost me £4 per year.) Or fortification of some processed foods, as in Finland.
But oh dear, it might improve people’s general health and reduce the demand for pharmaceuticals. Silly me, we can’t allow that.