Hull Teeth Team step in to help children through dental crisis

A team that specialises in oral hygiene are stepping in to prevent tooth decay among children in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire

As part of our ‘the root of our dental crisis’ special – we’ve been speaking to the Teeth team who've noticed an influx in the number of children suffering because they don’t have a toothbrush or haven't been able to see a dentist for a while.

Chris Groombridge is chair of Teeth Team in Hull – he says poor oral health is the number one reason why a child gets admitted to hospital, he said:

“It’s getting to the point now where children are needed a general anaesthetic.

“In our area, the GA list was at two years pre-COVID, it’s now at four years. The waiting list for a exodontist has gone from three weeks to twelve weeks.”

Research shows four in five teachers are providing pupils with toothpaste and brushes due to cost-of-living crisis.

Kimberley Thomas is from ‘The Hinge’ in Bridlington. They support local residents going through times of crisis, provide them with information and the tools to break cycles and improve their situations.

Kimberley says she's seeing more children are going without a toothbrush because of the cost of living crisis, she said:

“These families are choosing whether to eat that night or put electricity on. They cant then look at products such as buying deodorants and toothpaste.

“Because of the cost of food as well, children are more likely to have bad teeth. There’s so many other things that link to dentistry and not having that access is a huge issue for Bridlington.”