Dentistry magazine has today published an article - 'More to be done' to combat sugar intake, say dentists - and our dentist Sarah Mack is a contributor to the discussion.
Dentistry magazine asked members of the dental profession to respond to findings of a recent study that found children's sugar intake was reduced by almost a half in the year following the 'sugar tax' in 2018. The tax requires manufacturers of drinks containing over 5g of sugar per 100ml to pay a Soft Drinks Industry Levy.
Although these findings have been well received in general, many dentists believe that one year of data is insufficient to ensure the tax is effective, and that the levy does not go far enough in combatting children’s sugar intake, which has a profound effect on increasing dental decay and obesity in this vulnerable population.
"A positive shift in dietary habits is always something to be praised, and this study outlines how awareness of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) was found to be high amongst parents living in the UK. A consideration with this particular study is that the reduction observed is within 12 months of the SDIL implementation. We would need to see the results of much longer term studies to assess how this would impact specifically on dental health.
I also have concerns about the sample size for this study, analysing the dietary sugar consumption of 500 children per annum. There are 12.7 million children in the UK, therefore I would not consider it statistically significant.
It is important to consider that dietary free sugars are just one element which contributes to dental decay and we cannot use this as a single measure of success in our attempts to reduce the overall crisis with childhood decay and obesity. Education is essential and we need to do better to use this as a free tool to promote good oral health habits for our future generations."
Several dentists shared their thoughts on the new research and what other measures could be introduced to limit the impact of sugar on children’s oral health.
Nigel Carter, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, reports that there is much more to be done: "Admission to hospital for tooth extraction remains the number one reason for hospital stays for the under 12s. At the Oral Health Foundation, we have been advocating for an extension of the tax to include milk products, both dairy and non-dairy, fruit juices with added sugar and cereals, with the proceeds being specifically allocated to funding preventive oral health programmes."
James Goolnik, previously President of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and author of cookbook 'Kick Sugar’ to help people reduce the sugar in their diets, recommends the tax to expand to infant formula and baby foods, as there is "no nutritional benefit from adding sugar, which just gets children hooked on sweet foods from an early age." He also advocates dentists should educate on nutrition, adequate sleep, proactive screening and good lifestyle choices.
Hannah Walsh, spokesperson for the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, called for an energy drink ban, as well as "clear and consistent labelling so that informed decisions can be made when selecting a drink.
All these measures should be combined with other evidence-based interventions such as supervised toothbrushing and community water fluoridation initiatives targeted at children in areas of high dental need."
Sarah Mack is a general and cosmetic dentist at Elmsleigh House, and founder of Little Smiles, our dedicated children's clinic helping anxious young people to access dental care, with inhalation sedation if needed during treatment.
