How does second-hand smoke affect your children’s teeth?
The government have recently been drawn into discussions led by campaigners such as the British Dental Health Foundation and the British Lung Foundation about the long term negative effects on children who are exposed to second-hand smoke by adults whilst driving in cars.
The proposal has been hard fought in recent months and earlier this year Parliament voted in favour of introducing legislation to make cars carrying children smoke-free.
The British dental health foundation believe, that should the proposal put forward by the Department of Health be passed as law, that millions of children will be protected to the risks exposed by second-hand smoke.
But what are the risks?
One of the main risks is Mouth Cancer. It is estimated that 3 million children under the age of 18 are at risk from being in smoky cars and houses, with over 8,500 hospital admissions last year in the UK due to second-hand smoking.
Experts believe that there are over 4000 chemicals in cigarettes, and the potential ban could curb the rising incident rates of mouth cancer.
Further studies are also linking the adverse effects of second-hand smoke in cars and households to slower childhood development of oral health, and significantly higher risks of developing tooth cavities.
If the plans are passed, and here at College Street Dental Centre, Petersfield, we can only hope that this is sooner rather than later, we will hopefully see improvements being made in children’s oral health figures, as well as a reduction in the number of mouth cancer cases.
For further information or advice contact College Street Dental Centre in Petersfield, Hampshire on 01730 263180
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