New study shows half of children tell white lies about teeth cleaning
A new study has revealed that half of children tell white lies about cleaning their teeth.
Research conducted by a group of dentists who have developed the Brushlink brushing tracker, suggested that up to half of kids tell fibs about brushing their teeth. One in five children try and trick their parents into thinking that they’ve cleaned their teeth by using ploys like wetting the brush head and an even larger proportion either exaggerate the amount of time they have brushed for or say they have cleaned their teeth when they haven’t bothered to.
Brushlink is the first smartphone brushing tracker that is compatible with any toothbrush. The app provides a brushing mark and it also analyses technique and frequency. If a patient consents, the information obtained by the device can be shared with dentists. Dr Dev Patel, one of the dentists behind Brushlink, said that it’s clear from research that many children aren’t doing a brilliant job with it comes to brushing their teeth and Brushlink is an aid that can benefit both kids and parents.
Information about brushing habits was obtained in a study involving 2,000 people. The survey also revealed that only a third of children are supervised when brushing. More than 10 percent of parents admitted that they had never supervised their child cleaning their teeth.
Many dentists will be unsurprised by the study findings. Statistics show that dental issues are the most common cause of hospitalisation in children, with more than 40,000 extractions carried out under general anaesthetic in English hospitals per year.
