Your child's dental needs explained

DENTAL decay is the single most common chronic disease of childhood.

So says paediatric dentist Dr Jennifer McCafferty who in the last few months has “had to take teeth from three-year-olds under general anaesthetic”.

McCafferty says the ten-year-old findings from the North South Survey of Children’s Oral Health in Ireland are still “absolutely true” today – 35% of children aged five living in fluoridated areas and 55% in non-fluoridated areas have experienced tooth decay. “This means one or more teeth has been filled or extracted due to decay.”