Supervised teeth cleaning.

[bfcjg]

If parents are so useless they cannot be bothered to teach children to clean their teeth there is absolutely no chance they will encourage them at weekends or school holidays regardless of if the child asks can they do so. It should be treated as child neglect just as if the child wasn't being fed correctly or didn't have their injections. Re breakfast clubs these are to ensure parents who work can be at work on time, if my grandchildren use them they attend with a toothbrush preloaded with tooth paste, it's not hard to do it's called love.

[Rowls]

Rowls' thoughts on 'breakfast clubs'

Back on topic, a friend is a dental nurse and goes into our local primary school to talk about looking after teeth to the reception class. She does this FOC but I was surprised that schools do not pay for a similar session as standard, knowing the long term affects of poor oral hygiene on children and adults.

Post as many emojis as you like.

The view that parents should be doing this and not the state is mainstream and it's what has been done since dentistry was invented.

Farm that responsibility out to the state and we simply raise our tax burden even higher and negate yet more of our personal responsibility.

[Hipper]

Ask me,I'll tell you all about it. Ran a very successful NHS only practice in Padiham until 2009. I'll happily tell you why I packed it up.

I'd like to know.

[AmbleClaret]

I'd like to know.

Quite simple really, the contract introduced in 2006,and still in place today isn't fit for purpose. You get paid the same for one filling as you would for 15. Imagine trying to run a pub like that, £5.00 a pint, £5.00 for 15 pints.
Dental practices are businesses, you have to make a profit to run then,and Quite simply you can't do that under the NHS contract.

[Rowls]

Quite simple really, the contract introduced in 2006,and still in place today isn't fit for purpose. You get paid the same for one filling as you would for 15. Imagine trying to run a pub like that, £5.00 a pint, £5.00 for 15 pints.
Dental practices are businesses, you have to make a profit to run then,and Quite simply you can't do that under the NHS contract.

It was relatively generous when it was first brought in but that was nearly 20 years ago. It favoured dentists who were prepared to rush patients in and out but that's always going to be the case.

All the dentists I'm still in touch agree with what AmbleClaret says. No dentist who isn't contractually obliged to stay with the NHS stays with the NHS. They can make far more money going private, so they do.

[dougcollins]

All the dentists I'm still in touch agree with what AmbleClaret says. No dentist who isn't contractually obliged to stay with the NHS stays with the NHS. They can make far more money going private, so they do.

Amazing I know, in this day and age, but there are still dentists who believe dental care in children is more important than making as much money as they can.

[mdd2]

When I sat on the Burnley and Pendle Health Authority the local politicians Labour and one Tory voted against the fluoridation of water to help protect childrens teeth-I said at the time being a tad ****** off by their attitude-thank God you werent around when we put chlorine in water and thus saved millions from diseases like typhoid. It has been known since the early 60's that fluoride in water prevents or reduces tooth decay as either North or South Shields had fluoride naturally in drinking water and the other didnt. Result a huge difference in tooth decay. And 60 years on still no fluoride in most drinking water but the politicians want teachers to do dental hygiene. GIVE ME STRENGTH.

[dsr]

When I sat on the Burnley and Pendle Health Authority the local politicians Labour and one Tory voted against the fluoridation of water to help protect childrens teeth-I said at the time being a tad ****** off by their attitude-thank God you werent around when we put chlorine in water and thus saved millions from diseases like typhoid. It has been known since the early 60's that fluoride in water prevents or reduces tooth decay as either North or South Shields had fluoride naturally in drinking water and the other didnt. Result a huge difference in tooth decay. And 60 years on still no fluoride in most drinking water but the politicians want teachers to do dental hygiene. GIVE ME STRENGTH.

Surely fluoride in Coca-Cola and other sweet drinks would make more sense?

[dsr]

The thing about supervising teeth cleaning is, who's going to do it? Say 240 children in a junior school, 5 minutes per child to get lined up, ticked off the register, and clean the teeth. That's 1200 minutes, or 20 hours. Even if you allow one teacher to supervise 6 children at once, it's still a whole morning of it - and that's assuming you can expect the children to line up in an orderly manner with no larking about!

[mdd2]

Surely fluoride in Coca-Cola and other sweet drinks would make more sense?

Judging by the amount of those drinks imbibed by some kids they would get fluorosis.

BTW that is not meant to be serious

[mdd2]

The idea of putting fluoride in drinking water comes from the studies in the North East and elsewhere

[Rowls]

Amazing I know, in this day and age, but there are still dentists who believe dental care in children is more important than making as much money as they can.

There are plenty. It's a case of finding the balance for most people.

What % of your potential earnings would you forgo for something worthwhile? Plenty of factors to consider.

Sadly, that's essentially the best offer to dentists from the NHS these days.

[Clovius Boofus]

When I sat on the Burnley and Pendle Health Authority the local politicians Labour and one Tory voted against the fluoridation of water to help protect childrens teeth-I said at the time being a tad ****** off by their attitude-thank God you werent around when we put chlorine in water and thus saved millions from diseases like typhoid.

It was the anti MMR Vax of its day. If I recall correctly, the local Green Party were voracious campaigners against it. It near enough turned them into a single issue party.

[BFCmaj]

A lot of schools that I teach in already do supervised toothbrushing and the teachers I speak to don't have an issue with doing it. If it cuts down on dentist trips and improves children's dental health, I don't see that there's really an issue with it.

[Rowls]

It was the anti MMR Vax of its day. If I recall correctly, the local Green Party were voracious campaigners against it. It near enough turned them into a single issue party.

Re-fluridating the water is the easiest, cheapest and most effective way to minimize these problems.

[aggi]

As stated above, I know what they are.

Feel free to disagree with my opinion but I don’t need lectures.

The state can NEVER provide the same life you can build yourself.

So why is, “The state can do this!” seemingly the answer to EVERY problem in the country.

If you follow this route for generation after generation you’d end up in a country with record public debt and a record high tax burden and the populace who wouldn’t be any happier, healthier or fitter to look after themselves.

I rest my case.

Goodnight all, take care of yourselves.

It's fairly clear that you don't though. Lots of them are run by private companies rather than the state. Generally you pay for them (regardless of who runs them).

In most cases the point is that parents can go to work rather than the provision of breakfast (but obviously that happens due to the timing).


As others have said, it's likely this tooth brushing responsibility would end up with the (not very well paid) teaching assistants rather than the teachers.

[LoveCurryPies]

Sadly some parents are a nightmare. My niece is a dentist and deals with some incredibly sad cases. Like the child who came to school and all her young baby teeth had been pulled out by her father using pliers. In doing that, he’d also twisted the adult teeth that still had to appear.

So many parents don’t teach basic hygiene. So it falls to the schools.

[AmbleClaret]

Sadly some parents are a nightmare. My niece is a dentist and deals with some incredibly sad cases. Like the child who came to school and all her young baby teeth had been pulled out by her father using pliers. In doing that, he’d also twisted the adult teeth that still had to appear.

So many parents don’t teach basic hygiene. So it falls to the schools.

Surely that would be reported as child abuse if true?

[LoveCurryPies]

Surely that would be reported as child abuse if true?

It was reported. But sadly it’s not a unique case.

[AmbleClaret]

It was reported. But sadly it’s not a unique case.

Terrible.