Heartbeat: Top tips for teeth as Trust takes to the community

August 22, 2019

Our student health visitors recently took over Boots in Cape Hill all in an effort to remind pre-school children the importance of brushing teeth.

The health visitors encouraged parents of children under the age of five to try their dental products and advised them on the benefits of cleaning teeth from a young age. They also answered questions parents had around dental healthcare and aided parents who needed signposting to their local dentist.

Denise Darbyshire, Student Health Visitor was part of the team at the chemist on the day. She said: “It was fulfilling to be able to educate so many parents around dental healthcare in Smethwick on an array of different topics from being smart with sugar, when to see the dentist, when and more importantly how often to brush and the quantity of toothpaste necessary for young children.”

According to the Royal College of Surgeons, it’s estimated that around 80 per cent of 1-2 year old children haven’t visited a dentist in 12 months. Sarah Hibbert, Student Health Visitor believes such a shocking statistic should not exist in 2019 and hopes the awareness event they hosted can help reduce this figure.

She said: “If by us hosting this promotion day helps just a few children have better quality of teeth through their childhood and adulthood then it will have been worthwhile. Whether it’s frequency of trips to the dentist or even just brushing teeth twice a day, every little bit counts towards improving oral hygiene and preserving the quality of teeth into adulthood.”

Tooth decay is one of the most common reasons children aged 5-9 are admitted to hospital. Sarah added: “Sugary food and drinks cause bacteria on teeth to produce harmful acid that rots them and can lead to painful toothaches. However, even swapping sugary drinks out of a child’s daily diet for plain water or even lower fat milks could help prevent tooth decay long term.”