Here’s the key graphic as discussed in my lecture for Colgate. Click the image to view full size.
It’s good to see the Manchester Evening News pick up on the current Child Tooth Decay Crisis. Official statistics show a child in Greater Manchester is 60% more likely to end up having to be admitted to hospital to have multiple decayed teeth extracted under general anaesthesia than an average child in England. This is a crisis that over the last four years cost the NHS £13m.
The statistics look at 5-year-olds in areas like Salford and Oldham. They are more than six times more likely to have decay, than their peers in Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s Surrey constituency
Today, the British Dental Association has addressed all the candidates standing for Mayor of Manchester. It wants them to pledge to tackle the city region’s status at the bottom of the national league table for oral health.
Dentists have outline a five point plan that addresses issues those of us dealing with children see every day. It includes a long term strategy to turn around oral healthcare with specific investment in children’s oral health.
It calls for an end to the scandal of child tooth extractions and the expansion of local health initiatives.
Finally it calls for a drive to make Manchester a low sugar city.