Hart urges school dental plan
Updated on 13 November 2007
Children's teeth should be screened when they start school, Health Minister Edwina Hart has said.
She announced she was developing a national dental plan to improve the teeth of Wales's poorest children.
The dental health of five-year-olds in Wales was the worst in Great Britain and it was unacceptable that Wales was among the worst countries in Europe for an "almost totally preventable disease", she said.
Mrs Hart told AMs she agreed with suggestions for children's teeth to be looked at in school.
"That should be done and I think we have got to get over some of these issues and this is going to be a subject of further discussion," she said. "I'm determined that this should be a natural part of childhood - that your dental health is looked at and this is tackled."
The Assembly Government wants the dental health of five to 12-year-olds in the poorest fifth of the population to be as good as the middle fifth by 2020.
The National Oral Health Action Plan will set out measures to improve dental health and will encourage people to take better care of their teeth.
Mrs Hart said she "remained to be convinced" about the idea of adding fluoride to the water supply. In a statement to the Senedd, she also announced a review of an 18-month-old dental contract after hearing concerns about the way it was operating.
The contract was supposed to end the "drill and fill" culture and make it easier for people to see an NHS dentist.
Mrs Hart said access problems were now confined to a few areas but health chiefs, dentists and patients had come forward with concerns about "certain operational aspects".
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
