Children should have their first dentist visit before their first birthday, a leading dental surgeon has claimed.
Dr Eleanor McGovern, a consultant paediatric dental surgeon in Temple Street University Children’s Hospital, has called on the state to give kids a dental check-up voucher to be redeemed before they turn one, reports the Irish Examiner.
She told the paper that such a scheme would greatly reduce tooth decay in kids.
“Approximately 50 per cent of children in Ireland have tooth decay by the time they are five years old, yet children are not normally seen through the public HSE dental system until approximately seven years of age,” she said.
The Irish Dental Association has estimated that the scheme could cost between €2m and €3m but that the savings would outweigh the cost in time.
It also said that more than 10,000 Irish children are having teeth extracted under general anaesthetic every year.
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