South Asian children miss dentist

By Ben Marshall
BBC Asian Network

Dr Ahsan Mirza believes patients lack information

Children of Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani origin use NHS dental care less frequently than any other ethnic group, research shows.

Three-quarters of under 16s in England have been for a check up in the last year - but the statistics are low for all British Asian groups.

The Department of Health says Bangladeshi children from deprived backgrounds are the worst affected.

They often consume a high amount of sugar in their diet.

According to Sue Gregory, Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England only 45% of boys and 46% of girls of Bangladeshi descent have visited the dentist in the last 12 months.

A lack of awareness

The Department of Health said cultural and economic reasons were to blame, and suggested Asian people use services in different ways.

They believe many South Asian children only visit the dentist when they have problems such as toothache, rather than for the recommended routine checks every six months.

Children from South Asian communities lack the necessary information that is required to get to a dentist Dr Ahsan Mirza

Dr Ahsan Mirza, who runs an NHS dental surgery in Hounslow, London agrees.

He said: "Children from South Asian communities lack the necessary information that is required to get to a dentist.

"We need to go out into the community and educate British Asians a lot more.

"We need to bring them to the practices and examine their teeth on a regular basis.

"To facilitate this, we need the help of health care professionals and government health ministers."

Experts also believe that Asian parents lack the necessary knowledge.

The Department of Health said many Asian parents do not realise that NHS dental care is free for under-18s.

"The baby teeth of Asian children are not as healthy as the white population," said Sue Gregory.

Difficult problem

Baljinder Dlay is a mother of three teenage boys from Southall.

She has always taken her sons to the dentist, but finds this increasingly difficult as they get older.

"They never want to go; in fact I find it I practically have to force them," she said.

"They always think that their teeth are fine and don't need checking."

Things were different when she was young: "When I grew up, my mum and dad didn't take me to a dentist.

"In fact, I didn't get into a dentist until I had my children.

"I didn't even know about dentists. Sometimes I feel this issue is caused because parents don't speak English or they feel scared of pain.

"Asians living in England need to overcome this."

Better care for British Asians

The Department of Health is currently producing guidance notes for all Primary Care Trusts across the country.

This will provide ideas about how they can promote the issue to local South Asian communities in their region.

The aim is to raise awareness of the problem and help to support more 'vulnerable and socially deprived' sections of the Asian community.

They hope to publish these documents later this summer.

A strategy to prevent dental disease, with information outlining effective oral hygiene, is also being sent to all dental surgeries in England.

Added to this, the Department of Health say more Asian students are applying to attend dental school than ever before.

It is hoped that a greater percentage of Asian dentists will start to change the negative culture towards visiting the dentist within the Asian population in England.

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