1. BDA Cymru Wales is pleased to provide a response to the consultation on  The Emotional and Mental Health of Children and Young People, by the Children, Young People and Education Committee. The British Dental Association (BDA) is the voice of dentists and dental students in the UK. We bring dentists together, support our members through advice, support and education, and represent their interests. As the trade union and professional body, we represent all fields of dentistry including general practice, community dental services, the armed forces, hospitals, academia, public health and research.

2. BDA Wales is supportive of the Welsh Assembly's consultation into the review of CAHMS and whether it is on track to deliver the "step-change" needed. BDA Wales sees the importance of the emotional and mental health of young people and welcome the opportunity to contribute to this consultation.

3. The poor dental health of 12 to 15-year olds affects their daily life with 54% reporting they had daily problems with their teeth and mouths including issues such as difficulty cleaning teeth¹. Dental health problems affect Welsh 12-15-year olds psychologically and socially². The most common daily problem for this age group is that they feel embarrassed to smile or laugh. Smiling and laughing are proven to be important to mental health and well-being, and being prevented from doing so due to embarrassment can be significantly impacting or damaging³.

4. BDA Wales wants to highlight the negative emotional and mental affects poor oral health can have on children and young people. Primary school aged children in Wales are experiencing substantial oral health disparities; failure to address this can lead to further inequalities and negative impacts. Studies show primary school aged children with poor oral health are more likely to have problems at school, fail to complete all required homework, and miss 1 day of school a year more than children with good oral health⁴.

References

1) Welsh Health Survey. (2015). Health of Children. Available: http://gov.wales/statistics-andresearch/welsh-health-survey/?lang=en. Last accessed 16th November 2016.

2) Children’s Dental Health Survey (2013) Country specific report: Wales. Health and Social Care Information Centre, Last accessed 10th November 2016.

3) Lyness, D. (2014). Good Reasons to Smile. Available: http://kidshealth.org/en/teens/smiling.html#. Last accessed 10th November 2016.

4)Guarnizo-Herreno CC; Wehby GL. (2012). Children's dental health, school performance, and psychosocial well-being. Journal of Paediatrics. 161 (6), p1153-1159.