Knowledge gap costs NHS

The survey of over 2,000 UK based parents highlights how dental disengagement has left over 1m children aged eight and under still waiting for their first trip to the dentist. Additionally, over 700,000 children who have been to the dentist have had at least one filling, each at a cost of £31 to the Department of Health.

These findings demonstrate an urgent need for more initiatives for educating and engaging parents and their children on oral health and the importance of looking after their teeth properly from a young age.

Many parents failed to take their children to the dentist early enough with 57 per cent of respondents not going until after their first birthday, considerably later than when teething starts, despite almost 50 per cent reporting no barriers to doing so earlier. Furthermore, only a quarter (26 per cent) of children brush their teeth for the recommended two minutes per session.

The survey also highlighted how lack of dental engagement may be contributing to parental confusion around positive factors for oral health and free treatments available on the NHS: