Middle Class Mothers Can Have ‘Ribena Babies’ Too
5-year-old, Stan Donnelly, recently had his rotted milk tooth removed even though his mother claims to have taken good care of his teeth.
Claire Donnelly of Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, stated that she thought providing her child with a low-sugar diet and adequate brushing would ensure her son to have healthy teeth. When digging a little deeper, it came to light the she had been providing her son with regular treats and adopted lazy brushing methods.
‘Ribena Babies’ refer to the children who were given the fruit drink back in the late 70’s and early 80’s in order to substitute vitamin C. Due to false advertisements, mothers believed that they were providing their children with healthy alternatives. Unfortunately, the drink was the cause of millions of dental cavities due to its high sugar level content.
Recent figures provided by the NHS have shown great concerns, as tooth decay in children under 5 is a big problem. Around 30,000 children are admitted to hospital every year due to rotten teeth and around one million pre-schoolers have at least 2 fillings before they even start school.
Around 6% of children in the UK have never attended a dental check-up and 2% of parents state that their children don’t brush their teeth at all. As a result of this, it is common for children to have around 5-6 teeth removed in a single sitting.
Dentists have named these parents as being ‘juvenile’ and have urged them to stop giving their children sugary drinks and snacks, on a regular basis.
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