TIME-poor parents and processed foods have added to a growing tooth decay rate among Tamworth children, with kids as young as 18 months old on the books at local dental surgeries.
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Responding to a shocking report released last week, which revealed nearly half of all Australian primary school kids have decayed baby teeth, Tamworth dental professionals have urged parents and carers not to be complacent when it comes to their child’s dental health and to seek further education.
The report, released by Adelaide University, found that more than
40 per cent of children in primary school aged five to 10 years had decay in their baby teeth.
“There is definitely an increase in the decay rate and we do see some pretty nasty cases,” dental hygienist Mandy Sorensen said.
“It depends on the disparity, but children from less privileged backgrounds tend to have a higher decay rate.
“At the end of the day, parents are time poor and it comes down to diet, as a lot of the foods they eat are processed and this is very high in sugars.”
Ms Sorensen also believed the scrapping of the Childhood Dental Scheme on June 30 would also further impact the decay rate.
“A lot of those (kids) really in need of it and were able to get access through the scheme, are going to miss out again,” she said.
“They won’t have access to regular dental care and through the public system there is a waiting list.”
“If we get on top of that decay rate, it means less time off school and also less dental anxiety.
“Tooth decay also affects jaw development and general growth.”
Richard Wise from Happy Smile’s dental surgery said he has treated local children as young as 18 months old for holes in their teeth.
“To me this research would be fairly accurate in relation to this area. What I’m seeing would match those figures,” Mr Wise said.
“Diet and the fact that people are eating so much processed sugar is a factor.
“Generally, if kids get holes in their teeth, its not the kid’s fault, it’s the fault of the people feeding them.
“A large part of it is probably complacency or just a lack of knowledge about what’s contained in the food they eat.”
Dentist visits every six months and brushing teeth with a fluoride toothpaste twice daily were recommended by the local dental professionals as preventative measures for tooth decay.
