Many Irish children have high levels of tooth decay, but introducing a sugar tax to tackle this ‘will not provide a miraculous quick fix solution', dentists have warned.

According to the Irish Dental Association (IDA), studies show that around half of all Irish 12-year-olds and three-quarters of all 15-year-olds already have some decay in their permanent teeth.

A significant amount of this this decay is thought to be due to the consumption of sugary drinks and recently, the British Chancellor, George Osborne, announced a plan to introduce a ‘sugar tax' on the producers of sugar-added soft drinks, with the revenue raised being spent on school sports programmes.

However commenting on this issue, outgoing IDA president, Anne Twomey, said that the focus should not be on how much people are paying for these products. Instead, it should be on encouraging people to reduce their consumption.

"There is overwhelming evidence that sugars in food and beverages are the main dietary causes of tooth decay and erosion in children and adults. In addition to decay, people who consume excess sugar suffer higher rates of heart disease and diabetes.

"We believe the best approach to this issue is through a coordinated programme of education and promotion, in tandem with an effective school screening programme at junior infant level, or even via free dental care for the under sixes," she said.

While no studies have been carried out on lost school time in Ireland, international research suggests that children with poor oral health are three times more likely to miss school as a result of dental pain.

The IDA said it would support public health warning labels being placed on carbonated soft drinks. However it also said that if a ‘sugar tax' was introduced, all money raised should go towards oral healthcare programmes.

The association questioned whether companies hit with a sugar tax would reformulate their products, or simply increase their prices to compensate.

"Have any studies been carried out to test the effectiveness of sugar taxes where they have been introduced? What about the 60% of the population here who do not consume sugar-sweetened beverages?

"As well as fizzy drinks would the tax also cover fruit juices? What happens if consumers switch to alternative untaxed sugary drinks? What about the disproportionate effect such a tax will have on lower income households? These are important questions and we really haven't heard convincing answers to any of them," Ms Twomey commented.

She also highlighted the fact Irish children are among the highest per capita consumers of soft drinks in the western world. However, rather than trying to tackle this issue, ‘the HSE made severe cuts to its dental service catering for children'.

"There has been a 20% net reduction in dentists employed by the HSE to care for children and now those children and their dentists are dealing with the consequences of that decision. Studies show it is children from more deprived backgrounds who have a higher risk of decay and unfortunately, these are the very people who have been hardest hit by the HSE's cutbacks in the public dental service," Dr Twomey added.

She made her comments at the IDA annual conference in Galway.