One in five children clean teeth inly once per day, new survey finds

ABC NEWS (Australia)

We have some new intimate details of how Australian families take care of themselves. A survey has found around one in five children only brush their teeth once a day and three quarters never floss. The new data also reveals most parents aren't sure when to first take their children to a dentist and many underestimate the importance of caring for baby teeth.

Transcript

00:00As professionals, our primary responsibility is to our patient above ourselves.

00:06That's one of the things that dentists sign up for as part of our career,

00:09and we're proud of that.

00:10Promoting good oral health is an essential part of that,

00:12and making sure that we're getting kids into the dentist early enough

00:15to find problems before they become a real issue is really important.

00:18OK, so what were some of the key concerns for you out of this,

00:22particularly with the habits of kids and the attitude of parents towards kids?

00:25Yeah, kids are turning up to the dentist too late, is what our survey shows,

00:30and the knowledge isn't out there.

00:32Only one in four are turning up to the dentist before age one,

00:36which is what the recommendation is, before age one or when the first teeth erupt.

00:40About a third of kids are turning up to the dentist when they're running into a problem.

00:45They've got a hole, they've got pain, they've had a trauma or something like that,

00:48and that's late in the stage.

00:50It makes it a lot harder for the kid to get treatment done

00:53because they're not used to the environment.

00:54It also makes it harder for the dentist to build a relationship

00:56because we're trying to achieve something, do some treatment at the same time

00:59as meeting the child for the first time.

01:01So it's a much tougher thing to do.

01:02So you're suggesting parents should take their baby to the doctor

01:08around when they turn one?

01:11Yep, by age one or when the first teeth erupt.

01:14It allows the dentist to have a look in the mouth,

01:15see how the teeth are coming through, see if there's any developmental issues.

01:18We can pick up on things much earlier on in the process,

01:21but also getting that child used to the idea of coming to the dentist.

01:23It's great forming relationships with kids when they're nice and young.

01:27They just get used to it and they actually enjoy coming to the dentist.

01:29Some people might balk at cost, but what's the situation with subsidies

01:33and how much it does cost to take your kid to the dentist at that age?

01:38Yeah, look, the cost varies depending on where you go.

01:40A lot of children are eligible for child dental

01:43through their state government services.

01:46The child dental benefits schedule that runs across the nation,

01:49anyone who's got a healthcare card, pension card,

01:52or is also on one of the family tax benefits from Centrelink

01:55is eligible for the child dental benefits schedule.

01:58Only 1 million out of the 2.8 million children

02:01that are eligible for that scheme are actually using it.

02:03So it's a significantly underutilised scheme.

02:06You can check on MyGov or through Medicare whether you're eligible,

02:09and 95% of those services are bulk billed

02:11through dental practices across the nation,

02:13whether it's public or private practices.

02:14OK, so what about diet, in particular drinks and sugary drinks for kids?

02:19Do they continue to be a big issue?

02:22They do.

02:22Our survey shows that although an increasing number of parents

02:26are aware that fruit juice causes dental decay,

02:29there's still one in four children having fruit juice on a daily basis.

02:33Now, there's no nutritional benefit for having that fruit juice.

02:36That exposure to constant sugar from it leads to decay.

02:39Fruit juices, soft drinks and cordials,

02:41they're all sometimes foods that, if they're consumed on a daily basis,

02:45are going to increase that child's risk of decay significantly.

02:47And how important is flossing and getting that started early?

02:52Flossing's quite important.

02:53A lot of decay starts in between the teeth.

02:55We often find that in children's teeth,

02:57where the gaps are slightly open or just closing up,

03:00food can get caught in there and that can lead to decay.

03:02So we recommend flossing between your child's teeth

03:04from the time that the two first teeth touch up against each other,

03:08which is quite early in life.

03:09A lot of people think sort of around six to ten years of age

03:12is reasonable to introduce flossing,

03:13but it should be happening much earlier than that.

03:15That will help reduce the amount of decay between the teeth.

03:18And what did the survey find about how often adults are flossing

03:22and their general approach to taking care of themselves?

03:25Yeah, look, not very often.

03:26About three-quarters of people aren't flossing their teeth

03:28or cleaning in between the teeth often enough.

03:30Adults have got the option to use little brushes

03:32that go through between the teeth instead of floss,

03:35or as well as floss,

03:36and they're quite an effective way of reducing gum disease

03:39as well as reducing decay risk.

03:41So definitely cleaning between the teeth

03:42is being underdone generally across the nation.

03:44And prevention will ultimately save you money in the end?

03:48Absolutely.

03:50You can significantly reduce the amount of gum disease

03:53going on in your mouth by cleaning effectively between the teeth,

03:55increase the lifespan of fillings and crowns

03:57that have been put in there,

03:59plus also reducing the amount of decay.

04:00So your dentist is very keen to work with you

04:02on reducing your risk

04:03and the amount of dental disease that you'll get.

04:06What's in your mouth will last a lot longer

04:07for the rest of your life

04:08if it's well looked after.

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