Vulnerable Sunderland children missing out on dental checks during pandemic

Children in care in the city are supposed to have their oral health assessed regularly as part of efforts to monitor their wider physical and mental wellbeing.

But much work has been left paused due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions.

Dr Sarah Mills, a pediatric consultant, said: “The issue is dentists have been shut for almost a year now to our general population.

“Generally we have a really good uptake of carers getting children to the dentist, but actually getting a child in front of a dentist at the moment is incredibly difficult.

“We always talk about dental hygiene and make recommendations about what should be going on to ensure dental hygiene is promoted.

“But in terms of assessments we’re at the will of COVID.”

Dr Mills was speaking at a meeting of Sunderland City Council’s Corporate Parenting Panel, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.

She was responding to a question from Lousie Farthing, cabinet member for children, learning and skills, on whether more could be done to encourage dental check ups generally.

The state of Sunderland’s oral health has been a concern for some time, with a report in 2020 suggesting 28.4% of city youngsters under five had suffered tooth decay, compared to 23.3 per cent nationally.

Sunderland is believed to be the second worst area in the North East behind Middlesbrough for five-year-olds with decay, missing or filled teeth.

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