More than half of UK parents are limiting their children's sugar intake, a new global survey reveals.

With World Oral Health Day taking place tomorrow (20 March), the results indicate parents in the UK are the most proactive in limiting tooth-damaging sugar with just over half of parents claiming they restrict sugar levels.

Parents in the UK were also top ranked for taking their children at least once a year for a dental check-up whereas less than half of parents in the other nine countries surveyed did so.

The YouGov survey of 10 developed and developing countries was commissioned by FDI World Dental Federation (FDI).

Dr Gerhard K Seeberger is president of the FDI.

He said: 'The oral health profession has largely existed as a separate specialty divorced from medicine and medicine's education system but the intense debate around sugar over the past few years only illustrates the fallacy of working in silos.

'It is simply unproductive to be discussing sugary drinks and their link to the obesity epidemic without factoring in the obvious impact they have on the oral health of children.'

The survey reports that parents from the USA rank second to last when asked if they limit(ed) sugary food and drinks in their child(ren)'s diet (e.g. candy, soda, juice), with 32 per cent of respondents saying that this was the case. The remaining countries' results included the United Kingdom (52 per cent), Sweden (44 per cent), (Australia (41 per cent), China (41 per cent), Morocco(40 per cent), France (37 per cent), Philippines (36 per cent), Egypt (32 per cent) and Argentina (30 per cent).

Forty-one percent of parents in the USA took their child for a dental check-up at least once a year The remaining countries' results included the United Kingdom (63 per cent), Argentina (47 per cent), France ( 42 per cent), Sweden (41 per cent), Australia (37 percent), Philippines (31 per cent), China (18 per cent), Morocco (12 per cent) and Egypt (11 per cent).

This year World Oral Health Day is featuring pledges to inspire the general public, policymakers, healthcare professionals and other key stakeholders to Unite for Mouth Health.

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