Dentists from three Ayrshire dental practices have pledged their time in the fight to stem a growing oral health emergency affecting Scotland’s children.
The Art of Dentistry in Prestwick; Sandgate Dentistry and Alloway Place Dental Care, both in Ayr, are part of Clyde Munro Dental Group’s target of treating at least 1,000 children with a fluoride varnish (FV) application in dedicated out-of-hours clinics by the end of the year.
A fluoride varnish application is one of the most effective treatments for preventing tooth decay in children from the age of two.
Typically offered up to twice a year, the pandemic-induced backlog means it is not currently as readily available to families under NHS services.
The pledge comes after worrying statistics showed that 850,000 fewer patients had been seen in the past two years compared to 2017-2019.
In children’s services, just 55 per cent of youngsters in the most deprived areas have seen a dentist.
And the latest data shows that primary school children from the most deprived communities experience more than four times the level of tooth decay compared to children in the least deprived.
These stark and persistent inequalities have widened as a result of the pandemic, with the collapse in access to routine services, the suspension of public health programmes and the impact of sugar-rich lockdown diets.
Jacqui Frederick is group clinical director at Clyde Munro and one of the dentists to have helped more than 100 young patients access FV treatment in 2021.
She said: “We’re a predominantly NHS-based group and we take our responsibility as Scotland’s biggest dental group seriously.
“As you might imagine, our dentists are deeply concerned at falling numbers of young patients accessing NHS dentistry services.
“The pandemic has set back the oral health of so many people and we want to be a part of the fightback.
“We wish we didn’t have to volunteer time out of hours to get this done – but in doing so, we can reach out to those in need. Any concerned parents or guardians can contact their nearest Clyde Munro practice to enquire about FV clinics.”
FV application is a dental treatment that takes around 10 minutes and the treatment will not require the parent or the child to be a registered patient.
The practices will release dates and times of its clinics regularly on its website. Find out more at https://clydemunrodental.com/
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