Today on World Oral Health Day (WOHD), FDI World Dental Federation (FDI) 
released the results of a survey from 13 countries, which asked parents with 
children aged 5–16 if their child's school provided lessons on good oral care. 
Poor oral health can negatively affect how a young mouth develops and leads to 
more than 50 million school hours being lost each year1. It can also affect a 
child's confidence, social skills as well as potential for success later in 
life. Oral health is, therefore, essential to a child's general health and 
well-being.   

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: 
https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8512751-fdi-survey-uk-schools-last-in-oral-health/


The survey reports that UK schools rank last in promoting good oral health. 
When asked if their child's school provided lessons on the importance of good 
oral care, only 29% of parents from the UK said this was the case, which was 
dramatically lower than the results from 12 other countries. This puts the UK 
at the bottom of the list behind USA (53%), Australia (54%), Germany (69%), 
China (77%), Saudi Arabia (81%), Poland (84%), Morocco and Algeria (86%), 
Indonesia (87%), Brazil and India (91%), and Mexico (93%).  

49% percent of parents from the UK also 'didn't know' how often their child's 
school gave lessons on good oral care, with parents from Australia and the USA 
not that far behind at 35% and 32%, respectively. This was in stark contrast to 
the results from Germany (19%), Saudi Arabia (12%), Poland (10%), China, 
Indonesia and Morocco (9%), Algeria (6%), India (5%), Brazil (3%) and Mexico 
(1%). 

FDI President Dr Kathryn Kell said, "The survey results show that not all 
parents know if their children are receiving oral health education at school. 
We must fill this knowledge gap, as oral diseases are the most prevalent 
disease globally and affect 3.58 billion people; equivalent to half of the 
world's population. What's more, 486 million children suffer from tooth decay 
of primary teeth, which can cause premature tooth loss, pain, sleep disruption, 
problems eating and other health issues for young children." She emphasized 
that "Schools must be encouraged to teach children about good oral care".

The good news is that 71% of parents across all countries agreed that schools 
should teach children about good oral care and 51% also recognized that parents 
play a role in oral health education.

WOHD Task Team Chair Dr Edoardo Cavalle stated, "Good oral health habits start 
early, and we need to encourage children to brush their teeth twice a day with 
a fluoride toothpaste and help them avoid foods and drinks high in sugars. We 
also need to prioritize regular dental check-ups. Millions of school days are 
lost each year because of poor oral health, seriously affecting a child's 
ability to perform at school. Together, parents and teachers must play a key 
role in helping to educate children on the importance of keeping a healthy 
mouth and teeth, which will help secure the general health and well-being of 
future generations."

In response to the survey findings and to help teachers and parents Act On 
Mouth Health, FDI has developed Mouth Heroes for schools, a multimedia teaching 
resource that provides tools to deliver engaging lessons about the importance 
of good oral health. Aimed at children aged 5–9 years, Mouth Heroes features a 
child-friendly spokesperson called 'Toothie', who takes children on an exciting 
journey to develop health-related life skills. By assisting teachers to 
integrate oral health into lessons, Mouth Heroes can help drive positive 
change. In addition, there are many resources available through the WOHD 
campaign website to assist parents in learning about good oral health practices 
for their children. 

Press material: www.worldoralhealthday.org/press

About World Oral Health Day 

Celebrated annually on 20 March, World Oral Health Day (WOHD) was launched by 
FDI World Dental Federation to raise global awareness on the prevention and 
control of oral diseases. www.worldoralhealthday.org; #WOHD19 #SayAhh 

WOHD Global Partners: Henry Schein, Philips Sonicare, Unilever; and WOHD 
Supporters: 3M, Planmeca, Wrigley

References

1.     Kwan SYL, Petersen PE, Pine CM, Borutta A. Health promoting schools: an 
opportunity for oral health promotion. Bull World Health Org. 2005;83:677–685. 
Available from: https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/83/9/677.pdf [accessed 11 
March 2019].

About the Survey

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size 
was 16,477 adults of which 4,367 were parents with children aged 5-16. 
Fieldwork was undertaken between 18th February – 4th March.  The survey was 
carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of 
all adults (aged 18+) in Australia, Brazil, Germany, UK, USA, Mexico and Poland 
and are weighted and representative of all adults online (aged 18+) in Algeria, 
China, India, Indonesia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. 

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/838035/FDI_Survey.mp4 
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/838036/FDI_World_Dental_Federation.jpg 

Source:  FDI World Dental Federation