Research shows that care-experienced children and young people are more likely to have poor oral health and are less likely to go to the dentist than people who haven't been in care. This can result not only in bad teeth, but other long-term health and social issues.
Now the University of Plymouth has embarked on new research to explore the reasons underpinning why this is the case - with a view to finding solutions.
Funded by The Borrow Foundation and supported by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry and Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise (PDSE), the
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"> University's research took place to understand if and how care experienced children and young people look after their oral health, how easy it is for them to visit the dentist and what happens to them when they get there.
Crucially, it's the first study of its kind to involve care experienced young people directly, as well as health professionals.
What did the new research show?
The research showed that barriers range from systemic issues - such as lack of appointment availability - to more situational issues such as a lack of stability, and the feedback has now resulted in a policy brief containing co-designed recommendations on the areas that need to be addressed:
- strengthen oral health training and education
- ensure timely and professional dental assessments
- optimise treatment pathways
- create trauma-informed clinic environments
- enhance oral health support for care leavers.
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