Ground breaking report recognises that the oral health of children is essential to physical health

The State of Child Health report 2017 is welcomed by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) which gives unqualified support to its recommendations.

Referencing 25 measures of physical and mental health, the report includes tooth decay as an early years public health issue. Claire Stevens, a consultant in paediatric dentistry and BSPD media spokesperson, praised the RCPCH for compiling the report and raising the issue of health inequalities. Today, as the report was launched, she was at a discussion meeting for stakeholders and parliamentarians in Westminster.

Claire commented: “This is a ground breaking report and as the voice of children’s oral health, BSPD is pleased to be a stakeholder and to have contributed to the report. I trust that, as intended, the report will be a springboard for more campaigning and more change, especially in relation to early intervention and prevention in children’s oral health.

“We support all the recommendations contained in the report; the most important from the point of view of our patients is for universal early years public health services to be prioritised with targeted help for children and families experiencing poverty.