BDHF Criticise Parents For Allowing Kids To Brush Alone

Thu, 05 Jun 2008

Dental experts have hit out at parents for leaving children as young as five to brush their teeth unsupervised.

A survey by the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) has revealed that more than one in five children under the age of 5 are being left to brush their teeth .

According to the BDHF, the results are worrying as experts’ stress that learning good oral care habits at an early age is crucial for the health of teeth throughout adulthood.

A quarter of the 1,000 patients questioned wrongly thought that children did not need to brush twice a day, while 67 per cent thought brushing for one minute was sufficient to maintain good oral care .

In addition, 23 per cent believed there was no need for children to avoid fizzy drinks, despite them being strongly linked to dental damage.

BDHF chief executive Dr Nigel Carter said: "These results really are very worrying and help explain why around half of children under the age of five currently have tooth decay here in the UK ."

He added: "Not only has research shown that people who learn good habits as children are far more likely to carry them into adulthood, but taking bad habits into adulthood will cause gum disease and this has been linked to all manner of serious conditions including diabetes, strokes, heart disease and low birth-weight babies."
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