Children and parents in Jersey are being asked to take part in an online survey about their dental care to help inform the Oral Health Strategy.
The survey, which will be available online until the end of November, asks children about the health of their teeth and what they know about maintaining good oral healthcare. The questions for children and young people are age appropriate and split into primary (age 8 to 11) and secondary (12 to 18) school age.
The survey is being led by Health and Community Services (HCS) who are looking at current levels of oral health and health education amongst islanders with a particular focus on the dental health of Jersey’s children. The team working on the Oral Health Strategy work are actively involving Islanders and asking for their views. This will help inform the strategy to improve access to care and reduce dental decay.
It follows a survey run by the team earlier this year asking for feedback from parents about the Hospital’s Dental Department.
The survey should take fewer than five minutes to complete. The questions are about:
- your children’s oral health/a child and their oral health
- oral health care
- visiting the dentist
Jackie Tardivel, Head of Strategic Planning and Reporting for the Improvement and Innovation Team in HCS said: “When considering what changes should be made to the delivery of oral care on island and their priority, it is important to collect some data to help us understand the current situation. Poor dental health is linked to several chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
“Current trends are shifting towards the prevention of poor oral hygiene to reduce the level of dental caries by focusing on screening, and education. By completing the survey and by parents encouraging their children to do the same, there is an opportunity to contribute to help guide the future direction of oral health care on the island, beyond the Hospital’s Dental Department. We have devised an online survey to enhance the information we already have.”
Minister for Health and Social Services, Deputy Richard Renouf, said: “I welcome this important work being undertaken to inform and improve the future of dental health services for Islanders and I’d urge parents to spend a few minutes answering the short survey and asking their children to so also.”
None of the questions are compulsory, and all survey entries are anonymous. The survey is available in English, Portuguese, and Polish for parents.
More information on the Oral Strategy (and the survey link) can be found here.
