This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Extracting the fear factor
27/11/2003
A new dental playbox that aims to make
a trip to the dentist a less daunting experience was
launched today.
The playbox, created by leading
healthcare charity Action for Sick Children Scotland (ASC),
is an innovative way of encouraging children to become
familiar with dental equipment and procedures to take away
the fear factor at an early age through play.
It contains a dentist uniform, nurse
uniform, set of theatre greens, play-doh Dr Drill and Fill,
playmobil dental surgery, large puppet, teeth and
toothbrush, set of chattering teeth, human biology box kit,
four jigsaws, books, real equipment including gloves,
surgical masks and dentist's bibs and leaflets.
It will be made available to all New
Community and Health Promoting Schools in Scotland.
At St Mary's primary school in
Edinburgh, Deputy Health Minister Tom McCabe said:
"Dental health is poor in Scotland
compared with other European countries.
Children's dental health in particular is
not something we can smile about.
Going to the dentist regularly from an early
age can help identify and treat problems and prevent future
disease.
"One of the barriers of going to the
dentist, particularly for children, can be the fear factor.
The dental playbox will give children
reassurances, confidence and trust when visiting the
dentist.
Through play, it encourages children to
become familiar with dental equipment and procedures with
an aim to reduce the fear factor.
"
The playbox programme complements and supports the
main preventive themes of personal and parental dental care
by encouraging tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste from
a young age and reducing or avoiding the excessive use of
sugary foods and drinks - the main cause of dental
decay. It will help encourage children to go for
regular check-ups that can help avoid problems in later
life."
The Minister continued:
"Last year we published
Towards Better OralHealth in Children for consultation to get views on
how we can accelerate progress in improving children's oral
health.
We have received a number of responses to
the consultation and hope to publish our decisions
shortly.
"We have also set put plans to address
the recruitment and retention issues in dentistry and to
deliver a high quality NHS dental service which delivers
the needs of patients, the aspirations of the dental
profession and makes a substantial impact on improving the
health of the people of Scotland.
Mr McCabe concluded:
"No single approach will on its own
bring about the progress we want.
A range of measures is necessary if we want
to see real and lasting improvements in our children's and
Scotland's teeth."
ASC Scotland is affiliated to Action
for Sick Children, a leading UK children's healthcare
charity formed to ensure that sick children get the highest
standard of care.
The Dental Playbox, produced in
partnership with Boots PLC, will be made available to all
New Community and Health Promoting Schools in Scotland.
It contains a dentist uniform, nurse
uniform, set of theatre greens, play-doh Dr Drill and Fill,
playmobil dental surgery, large puppet, teeth and
toothbrush, set of chattering teeth, human biology box kit,
four jigsaws, books, real equipment including gloves,
surgical masks and dentist's bibs and leaflets.