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CHILDREN at Welton Primary School were all smiles after brushing up on their teeth cleaning skills as part of National Smile Month.
The six and seven-year-olds were given an educational talk and demonstration of how to brush their teeth correctly by Dental rc helicopters Hygienist Anushka McCann, from Brough Dental Studios, Welton Road.
The school’s Business Manager Jayne Patrick welcomed the surgery to the school as part of ‘Smile’ month so that the children could learn about the importance of proper dental hygiene in a relaxed environment, away from a surgery setting.
It comes after four out of ten children in the region were found to suffer from dental problems, whether it is through decayed teeth, or teeth missing due to decay.
In the most recently-published NHS survey of five-year-olds across the country, Yorkshire and the Humber had amongst the highest level of children with decayed and missing teeth.
It found that 38.7 per cent of children had dental problems, compared to a UK average of 30.9 per cent.
The figure for Yorkshire and Humber has also been consistently high in the last five surveys.
Jayne said the Yorkshire and Humber figures were a cause for concern for parents: “We all know children need encouragement to brush their teeth, and don’t always appreciate how important it is to brush properly twice a day.
“So when the practice offered to come and give an educational talk, we jumped at the chance. The figures for our region are very sobering, and we want to play our part in helping to educate children about the importance of good oral health.
“The talk was not only educational, but fun too. The children were very enthusiastic and attentive, and really got into the task set by Anushka to identify food and drinks from a display which were good or bad for teeth.”
Principal dentist and owner of Brough Dental Studios, Jason Spence, said: “The figures make for worrying reading for dentists in this region. It is essential to try and instil good dental habits for our youngsters. Modern toothpastes and brushes mean that fillings could now be a thing of the past for our children if their diet doesn't have too much sugar. But Hull and the surrounding area has consistently lagged behind England.
“Our specialists spend their working days reconstructing and maintaining a generation that did not benefit from the preventative advice and technology available today. We hope this innovative school visit will help teach those children some important lessons that may help avoid the need for such work in their lives,” he added.
Anushka, who was accompanied by a dental nurse from the practice, added: “As part of Smile Month, we wanted to get out into the community to promote the importance of good oral hygiene. Our aim is to educate children while having lots of fun at the same time.
“The children really enjoyed getting involved and answering questions and had lots of dental experiences that they wanted to share and questions they wanted to ask us about their own teeth.
“We also showed the class how to brush their teeth correctly using our large toothbrush and tooth model which the children had a great time using themselves.
“The session was really positive and the children had a good learning experience in addition to contact with a dental health professional. It was a really rewarding experience.”
All the children received a ‘Smile’ bag at the end of the session with toothbrushes, toothpastes, timers and dental advice cards to take home.