Dr. Caroline Robins:

I second that. I used to go into my daughter's school and give little talks. The health board also did that and came in with little drinks and things for them. It is very informative for them and they enjoyed it. It was good but I think we could go further. Beginning within school is good but we could take it back to the very beginning, when a parent is sitting with their child and the health nurse having that first check-up and their developmental checks. Those are very good opportunities for dentists or auxiliary staff, such as health nurses who could be trained to give this advice on things parents can do for their children. We are talking about a disease that is preventable. Prevention is better than cure. It is about getting that information.

A number of parents come into me such as mothers who do not realise that demand breastfeeding, while healthy, causes tooth decay. They think they are doing well in one respect but they have never been told what that means dentally. That conversation should have been had six years earlier when the child was in its infancy. Those little bits of information will do so much for those parents understanding what they can do at home with regard to cleaning their teeth or not feeding the child. For example, parents should test the temperature of food before giving it to their child because if the child has tooth decay, they could be putting bacteria into the child's mouth and creating a problem. Who knew that? It is little nuances and very simple things but some education at those early points would be about prevention and prevention, in the long term, is going to save the Exchequer billions of euro. It is simple.