Despite being among the most advanced countries in the world, childhood dental health statistics in the UK are shocking.
- The proportion of five-year-olds with missing, decayed or filled teeth is as high as 57% in more deprived areas of the country.
- Four in ten children currently have not seen a dentist in over a year, despite an NHS check-up for under 18-year-olds being free.
- The number one reason why a child aged five to nine enters hospital is tooth decay and it is one of the main reasons for school absenteeism.
At Teeth Team, we think we can and must do better than this to safeguard our children’s health. If a child has poor oral health, they will likely have poor general health and poor general health can lead to lower educational attainment. Therefore, by addressing oral health, a child’s future can be transformed.
Teeth Team takes dental education directly to children by offering local primary schools an oral health programme designed to raise awareness amongst children and parents of the importance of caring for teeth from a young age.
We help teach children about healthy diets and dental hygiene and we also offer a dental examination and apply fluoride varnish where required. In addition to administering the programme and training oral health educators, we provide free toothbrushes, toothpaste and fluoride varnishes for all the children involved.
Featuring dental superheroes Captain Incisor, Mighty Molar, K9, Baby Toof and Pre-Molar Girl, we help the children learn the importance of keeping their teeth healthy, whilst giving them an entertaining diversion from their daily timetable. This interaction also enables us to identify where there might be need for further intervention.