To think schools could do dental checks?

[cheminotte]

Just reading that poor dental health is linked to poverty and how many families struggle to find an NHS dentist.
Also read an article earlier this year about a boy in America who died of teeth decay as the infection spread. And recently heard that tooth decay is linked to heart disease.
Could schools do a dental check in reception like they do an eyesight and hearing test?

So schools should be dentists as well as doctors, social workers, counsellors, family therapists etc etc etc? The schools job is to educate, they are healthcare providers. There is already too much pressure and expectations on schools.

MOST HIGH STREET OPTICIANS WILL NOT DO CHECKS ON PRESCHOOLERS

Fine. I must have been very lucky that mine did. I still think leaving it until the age of 7 to get your child's eyes tested is not great!

99% of decay is preventable. It really is that simple.

Re NHS dentists: there isn’t enough money for the NHS to award contracts to all dentists who want to subcontract their time to the NHS.

Community services (where the dentist and premises etc are all paid for by the NHS) are woefully inefficient. Seeing single figures of patients per day.

It’s not as simple as sitting in a chair and having a dentist look at you with a torch. There are all sorts of governance issues involved.

Our dentist is private but the kids get free care via the NHS through it. Is this not universal?

My local optician will do checks on pre-schoolers.

DS2 is just turned 4, due to start Reception next year, and he’s just had his second eye test at the local opticians. They also did eye tests for DS1 when he was a pre-schooler.

Free dental care for children is universal, yes.

School dental inspections were stopped some years ago but I think there are still some clinics specifically for primary school kids. Dental treatment is free for kids and some others but I suppose it depends on there being an NHS dentist available.

Good for you stitches, but like I said round our way they won't. We've got a hospital referral instead. Rather more expensive than the universal scheme they ditched.

In any case, what of the kids whose parents can't or won't take them? Are you ok with them going through childhood not being able to see? Mitigating the effects of poverty and neglect is the whole point of state intervention. There's a really fundamental political division in these answers.

Schools didn't pay for this service. It's a community dental health service which also covered prisons, disabled patients, hiv/hep clinics & domicillary care when I worked in it many years ago.

I can understand some posters saying schools are there to educate not do health checks etc but then a part of me thinks to call those kids who otherwise wouldn't see a doctor/dentist etc.
Of course it always comes back to costs. Especially with this government

*all

The best way to avoid tooth decay is to brush sugar away from your teeth as soon as you possibly can, or twice a day if not.

A dentist going into primary school once won't make any difference if people aren't brushing their teeth.

My sons short sightedness was picked up at school too. He’s only four and didn’t think opticians saw them till 5. He certainly wouldn’t have sat still for a test until a short while ago.
We got a hospital referral and they tested him there and we picked up his glasses a couple of days later.
I think 4 is an ok age to have a first eye test? Unless they’re showing signs of problems. I’ll try and find somewhere that will take me other son earlier though because he is more likely to need glasses too since his brother has them.

Rita I am in the West of Scotland too

My eldest in p7 did have his eyes checked by the school nurse last week but she said his eyes were fine which is crap as he’s actually short sighted and likely to need glasses v soon. :/

A dentist going into primary school once won't make any difference if people aren't brushing their teeth.

No, and as the dentist who posted above who actually used to do these checks explained, most of the parents whose children were high risk, refused to let them even be seen when the dentist came into school. Then, the ones that did come, didn't bring them to the surgery for the recommended treatment afterwards.

there is another treatment given to kids at school for teeth... both my children are in Secondary school now... but right up until Primary 7.. both girls were part of the annual Fluoride Varnish scheme.. where the Dental team/School would send out authorisation Forms to all the parents asking for permission or refusal.. for their Child to have their teeth varnished with a coating to help prevent decay... there are risks involved ... Children who swallow too much fluoride over long periods of time .. can develop white spots on their teeth. However.. the risk of developing white spots as a result of fluoride varnish is very small ..

Schools don't pay for this and haven't for some time. They just provide a venue for it. You are asking the wrong people.

Are schools the new handmaidens?

I'm not sure what a Handmaiden is.. but I take my kids to the Dentist regularly.. always have... the Fluoride Varnish is an in-school option

Mol1628

Short sight can be there from birth, you can have 6 month baby's eyes tested. You may need to find a specialist though.

In Wales guidelines are that a child has a check before nursery at about 3 but as you dc may need glasses then please take him sooner. 4 years not seeing the world properly is a long time.

Im another 70s child who grew up with school healthcare. Dental checks in a big grey scary caravan, eye tests, height and weight checks, hearing test, the nit nurse etc.

LaughingLama Same here (60s and 70s) although I remember the caravan was blue! I was Sooooo scared. The first time I had to visit I hadn't been started school for long and after the other children told me how horrible it was I sneaked out of the classroom and ran home to my Mum!

I can still remember the terrible pang of fear when you arrived at school and saw the caravan pulled up in the playground.

He was just short sighted on one side so she said at the hospital his other side would have been compensating so he wouldn’t be able to tell. But I’ll definitely take his brother sooner.

I can still remember the terrible pang of fear when you arrived at school and saw the caravan pulled up in the playground

Yep, and in today's increasingly litigious society, it will have to be an 'opt-in' service which will make it an expensive process, totally missing the target group.

We have the annual height/weight checks done for the y6s done and each year, no matter what obesity issues there are amongst the children (this is increasing in a pretty obvious way), our school comes out as having a much lower than average obesity problem. This is because anyone with an overweight child opts out of them being weighed. A waste of time for all concerned and the stats generated are pretty useless too.

West is Best @ Rita? ;)

We’re in the north of Scotland, BakedBeans

Got to admit, I’ve never taken the kids to an optician for a check. I don’t know anyone who has, unless they already suspected a problem. I needed glasses from S2. I imagine at least one of the kids will need them. It’s on my radar to consider taking them from around the end of primary school, unless a situation arises before then.

Can someone explain what's special / different about the West of Scotland?