By the age of five, over a quarter of our children are suffering
from tooth decay. Bad dental health is unfairly spread around
London too; a child in Bexley has much better teeth than one in
Brent. [1]
Sugar is one of the biggest causes and a number of schools in
London have become ‘sugar-free’. This means no sugary drinks,
crisps or chocolate are allowed in packed lunches.
Today, the London
Assembly Health
Committee publishes the report ‘Child
Dental Health: Keeping the tooth fairy away’. One of the
main recommendations is that all schools in London should be
sugar-free by 2022.
Some of the recommendations include:
-
Supervised brushing in schools
- Every
child in London needs to see a dentist at least by age one.
- The
Mayor should appoint a specialist in children’s dental health to
the Child Obesity Taskforce
The Chair of the Health
Committee, , said:
“Research in recent years has told us just how dangerous
excess sugar is in our diet.
“Tooth decay and diabetes are just some of the many negative
outcomes if precautions are not taken.
“Schools are the centre of a child’s education and a
commitment to sugar-freedom would be revolutionary. Every
child in London could have a sugar-free start in life – the
health benefits would be enormous.
“The Mayor has the clout to encourage families and schools to
make sure London children see dentists as early as possible, be
part of a supervised brushing scheme and keep sugar to a
minimum.”
Notes for Editors:
- [1] A borough
breakdown of bad dental health is available
