That’s according to Fiona Sandom, president of the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT), who was speaking in response to a call for a national oral health programme by dentist and Conservative MP, Sir Paul Beresford.
The MP for Mole Valley led an adjournment debate in Parliament last week in which MPs debated child dental health.
During the debate, he claimed a targeted national oral health programme – rather than a sugar tax – was needed to tackle the rate of children’s tooth decay, which is especially alarming in deprived areas.
He said a fluoride varnish scheme, involving an interdisciplinary approach to child health, should also form part of this programme – a move supported by dental therapists.
Drawing on current statistics that revealed dental decay to be the number one reason for children aged five to nine being admitted to hospital in the UK, Sir Paul said that: “all healthcare professionals, such as midwives, health visitors and pharmacists, should be given the opportunity and training to apply oral health education, including in relation to persuasion on fluoride.”
The MP explained: “We need to invest in a national oral health programme. It should particularly target areas with problems of poor oral health. This should be done in nurseries and schools, with the backing of local authorities, which would need a small amount of funding from the Minister’s Department. As part of a health professional programme, use of oral fluoride for children should be promoted to parents and children until such time as the water supply in the area in which the children live is fluoridated.”
However, dental therapists believe the legislative framework will need to change in order to support such a scheme.
Fiona Sandom said: “Everyone, but particularly children, should have access to preventive dentistry. We need to use the skills of not just the dental team, but also all healthcare professionals to help give the correct messages, advice and preventive care. It calls for joined up thinking and, what we call in Wales, ‘prudent healthcare’, focusing on the best outcome for the patient, with them having an active role in designing services that meet their needs as well as taking more responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.”
She added: “Unfortunately, as dental professionals, we sometimes think the mouth belongs to us, but there are benefits to encouraging health visitors and school nurses to apply fluoride varnish to those patients who are ‘high risk’.
The world of healthcare should consider breaking down current barriers regarding who delivers what in order to create a gateway to care that is the most accessible for patients.
“However, certain barriers remain that prevent the most efficient and effective delivery of preventive dental care.”
BADT’s Amanda Gallie explained: “Because of legislation, we are unable to access children in schools and apply fluoride without a prescription from a dentist or a specialist in dental public health. We now need the legislative framework to carry out this ‘prudent healthcare’ and prevent caries. It’s what the NHS trains us to do.”
Currently, the BADT and the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT) are working together in a bid to address the status quo regarding the prescribing rights of dental hygienists and dental therapists.