The survey, in which the British Dental Health Foundation and dentalproducts maker Oral B interviewed 1,000 people in ten UK cities duringApril, found that 20 per cent of children were brushing unsupervised,and parents seemed to have little idea about what made good oral healthfor children.
A quarter of the parents believed that children did not need to brushtwice a day and 23 per cent thought there was no need for them to avoidfizzy drinks.
Over two-thirds also believed that dentists recommend brushing for oneminute rather than the optimum two minutes.
Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental HealthFoundation,said, 'These results really are very worrying and helpexplain why around half of children under the age of five currently havetooth decay in the UK.'
He added, 'Teaching children good dental habits is vital. Not only hasresearch shown that people who learn good habits as children are farmore likely to carry them into adulthood, but taking bad habits intoadulthood will cause gum disease, and this has been linked to all mannerof serious conditions including diabetes, strokes, heart disease and lowbirth-weight babies.
'Oral health is often seen as of secondary importance to general health,but that is wrong,' said Dr Carter. 'The theme of this year's NationalSmile Month, "Brush for Health", will make the public aware of the veryreal links between oral health and overall body health.'
FURTHER INFORMATION
National Smile Month is runnng from 18 May to 17 June. Find resourcesand ideas at www.nationalsmileweek.org/uk.
