Opinion: To the point - The healthcare we neglect
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
School dental services are in urgent need of attention, says Pat Wills.
'I wish I'd looked after me teeth, as they foam in the waters beneath ...' A line from Pam Ayres in the 1970s comes to mind as I sit in the dentist's chair. I know that, like many others, there are far better places I would like to be.
Even harder is listening to patients being told that their total bill is as much as £400, and how they struggle to pay even in small instalments.
Enrolling new children at school reinforces how few have ever had their teeth checked. I occasionally come across pre-school children who have no teeth at all. This affects not only their diet but also their ability to form sounds and to communicate.
Our most deprived families have no access to dental care. Parents had poor oral hygiene themselves and this pattern is repeated in their children. The school dental service is patchy and restricted in what it is allowed to do.
Some years ago the dental service did an experiment in schools experiencing high levels of transient pupils. They set up a dental surgery and carried out full oral checks and completed minor remedial work, such as fillings. Over a six-month period, hundreds of children and their families had first-class care. Sadly, this was not repeated, because of health and safety fears in terms of claims against the team carrying out the work in a school setting.
I remember my first experience with a dentist, more than 50 years ago. The school dentist service used a special caravan parked in the school grounds. The dentist had given me a small filling and then put his finger between my lower and upper jaw. He instructed me to 'bite'. This I duly did.
I am not convinced that he really understood that young children always take you literally, but I am sure he learned from the experience, if his pained expression was anything to go by.
But have successive Governments learned anything about what school dental services should provide? Labour is investing £16m in deprived areas to support families in need. Supporting a strong dental service would be a good start.
Pat Wills is a parenting co-ordinator in Blackpool.
