Dental surgeon Sarah Pollard, a former employee at the Hospital dental department, has also told the JEP that although the recent dental survey of tooth decay in five-year-olds suggests a low rate, there are still ‘significant levels of disease across all school age children’.
In an interview with JEP Parenting published today she says that many parents are frustrated at the lengthy waiting lists for dental appointments, which she said are adding to the problems.
‘Currently the dental provision for children in Jersey is inadequate and the system is old fashioned,’ said Mrs Pollard, who is calling for a huge shift in the direction and attitude of dental service provision for children.
The dentist, who co-founded the Super Smiles charity with dental hygienist Caroline Wetherall, which runs a programme in a number of primary schools teaching children how to brush their teeth, has also expressed concern about the state of teenagers’ teeth in Jersey.
