Child tooth decay study launched in Wales
A new three-year health study, aimed to help ward off child dental decay, will be focused on underprivileged areas in south Wales.
The launch of the study, reportedly costing one million pounds, comes after recent figures showed a three-fold increase in dental decay in adolescents living in deprived areas in the region, compared to wealthier regions. A number of mobile dental clinics will spearhead the prevention programme, allowing dental health experts to deliver check-ups and treatments to primary school children. The study aims to help and treat over two and a half thousand school children over three years in the Communities First areas of the country. The cost of the study was footed by the National Institute for Health Research and was award to experts from the universities of Swansea and Cardiff, as well as the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s Community Dental Service.
The children will be check on for three years after the study to test the effectiveness of the two common types of treatment that will be used; plastic sealants and fluoride varnish. Cardiff University’s school of dentistry consultant, Professor Chestnutt Ivor Chestnutt, will lead the study and was quoted as saying; ‘Both of these treatments have been around for many years and have been shown to work. To know which works best and is most acceptable from the perspective of children, their parents, and the dental staff carrying out the treatments, and the schools in which the treatment will be delivered will be of tremendous value to the National Health Service.’
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