From The Age
On the day when my six year old son lost his first baby tooth,dentists are becoming the new tooth fairy, along with their not so romantic teeth extracting plier "wands". I wonder if the kids get some money when they lose teeth this way. At the rate of teeth loss, some of these kids are going to have a lot of pocket money some weeks. The reality is that parents should be fined for this kind of neglect. Talk about major blows to a kids self esteem.
Thousands of Victorian preschoolers and toddlers — some as young as two — are undergoing radical dental surgery under general anaesthetic to remove several, and sometimes all, of their baby teeth.
The oral health of Victoria's preschoolers is so poor that Dental Health Services Victoria says the average six-year-old starts school with three to four teeth decayed, missing or needing filling.
While health authorities have poured money into campaigns targeting childhood obesity, what the dental service calls the "twin epidemic" of the alarming state of juvenile oral health has been largely overlooked.
I am sure that this is not confined to Victoria. One of my daughters friends brother has lost most of his teeth from drinking sugary drinks at around age 3. Yuch.
Obviously we need warning labels on sugary things like those on cigarette packets with pictures of kids with rotten teeth. In addition, a public health campaign needs to be implemented to address dental hygiene and the link to diet and specifically sugar intake. There is clearly a strong link between childhood obesity and teeth loss, through the types of food eaten increasingly more regularly. That and the inadequate and reducing funding for dental services has to have a big impact. Here in South Australia, the State Government has increased fees and charges for kids dental services. Why not increase funding and improve dental education.
That way all kids can have their dental right of passage at the right time and the real tooth fairy can come on time (without the pliers). For my son, it is tonight.
5 comments:
Yea Gods - I'm going broke being charged for every swear word that comes out my mouth! Can you imagine the deficit I'd find myself in if I allowed his teeth to fall out.
There is no need for Australian children to be subjected to poor health and living standards.
What on earth are we parents doing if our babies teeth have to be removed.
This was a great post Colin. Thank you. It caused me a good deal of introspection and I again read the ingredients on the packaged food stuffs I've added to the evening meal - no sugar, but far too much fat in the Gravox. This is now about to change.
Thanks for submitting to the Carnival of Australia and thanks for hosting the next one on July 18.
You are Welcome. Although I am not the best in the dental hygiene department, I am married to a dental hygiene nazi (in a nice way). Our kids have benefited from the routine and the commitment to keeping sugar out of their diet.
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