BDHF supports US dental proposals

The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) has come out in support of proposals from US law makers that would see parents obliged to take their children to a dentist before they start school, it has emerged.

A bill is currently going through the relevant proceedings in the US and – if passed into law – will mean all American children will undergo a dental examination at some point between the age of three and six, reports Dentistry.co.uk.

This kind of early contact with dentists is seen as a major positive for the BDHF, which has said it would be pleased to see a similar law brought into effect to better protect the dental health of children living in the UK.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the BDHF, said: “Encouraging children to visit the dentist from a young age is vital and this bill will really help to hammer the message home in the US.”

The comments from the foundation’s chief executive follow a Daily Mail report in February that suggested British dentists are being pressured to treat fewer children in order to focus on adults who have to pay for their own care.