成人快手 Scotland - 成人快手 Scotland - Could we win the battle against tooth decay by teaching children 鈥� and grown-ups 鈥� to brush like the Danes?

Could we win the battle against tooth decay by teaching children 鈥� and grown-ups 鈥� to brush like the Danes?

4 April 2018

Scotland has long held a poor reputation for public health but in one area, at least, there has been an improvement.

Speaking on Cradle to Grave, Nicola Innes, Professor of Paediatric Dentistry at the University of Dundee, described how has benefitted children’s dental health.

“Previously around two thirds of five-year-olds had decay in their teeth,” she said. “Now only a third of them have decay.

“It’s a dramatic reduction but it’s still a huge problem that even a third of five-year-olds have decay.”

So what more can be done?

Professor Innes believes we could benefit from following the Danish example which focuses on individual responsibility.

Denmark’s approach to dental health

In Denmark, parents accompanying their children to check-ups must do more than look on passively as the dentist prods inside their child’s mouth.

“Parents are required to come along to appointments and be taught how to brush their child’s teeth,” explained Professor Innes.

“They expect to be watched brushing their children’s teeth and the children are expected to gradually take over that care themselves.”

It’s an on-going process as the parents, and subsequently the children, have their brushing observed at every 4-6 month appointment.

The Danish model is worth copying, according to Professor Innes.

“They have managed to reduce their tooth decay from [being statistically] one of the worst in Europe to, in fact, almost the best in Europe.”

Cradle to Grave: Childhood

Dr Margaret McCartney explores what we need from the NHS at different stages of our lives and what we can do to ease the pressures it鈥檚 facing.

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