The Faculty of Dental Surgery has claimed that there is a ‘widespread misunderstanding’ from parents, with 80% of children between the age of one and two failing to visit an NHS dentist in 2016-2017.
Many parents do not realise that their children need to have their teeth checked so early, which could lead to young children having rotten teeth removed.
Professor Nigel Hunt, part of the Royal College of Surgeons said:
“In a nation which offers free dental care for under-18s, there should be no excuse for these statistics. Yet we know from parents we speak to that there is widespread confusion, even in advice given to them by NHS staff, about when a child should first visit the dentist.”
Dental check ups are vital in the early years – not just to prevent tooth decay but to get children used to the dental process. If a child is first greeted by a daunting procedure due to tooth decay, this can have a serious longterm effect on their future experiences.
Further shocking statistics have revealed that hospitals in England performed over nine thousand tooth extractions among children aged between one and four, in 2015 -2016.