Children in the UK have some of the worst instances of tooth decay in the world. Half of eight year olds and a third of five year olds suffer from tooth decay, according to The 2013 Children’s Dental Health Survey for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. By the time children reach the age of 15, the percentage with tooth decay has risen to 46%.
Although rates are falling compared with 10 years ago, they are still high. Good dental health at a young age increases the chances of good dental health for life, and children who regularly visit the dentist in their early years are much more likely to see it as a positive experience and nothing to be frightened of.
At Harley Street Dental Practice we care about great dental health for all the family and believe everyone deserves the very best treatment. We also believe prevention is far better than cure, and encourage parents bring their children in from the age of 12 months onwards, coinciding with when the first teeth start to appear.
We have a dedicated paediatric dentist, Professor Raman Bedi, who believes in building up a rapport and a relationship of trust with his young patients, talking to the patient as well as their parents. He leads our team of paediatric dentists, who offer a full range of children’s dental services, including an international childhood caries clinic to help children with extensive decay.
Links have been shown between untreated childhood decay and bigger health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, so ideally preventing but also treating any decay present is vital. Dr Bedi has developed the unique Bedi Oral Well-Being Score, available free to our patients in English and Arabic, and widely used by dentists and dental health educators around the world.
At the heart of our treatment is our firm belief that no child should have untreated cavities. We welcome new child patients of any age and believe we can help each one get the healthy mouth they deserve.