A MALVERN dental practice has supported the Chernobyl Children’s Lifeline charity by looking after the teeth of children from Ukraine who are visiting the town.

It’s now the ninth year in a row Beacon Dentalcare has provided dental care for the children who are spending time in Malvern as guests of the charity.

During their visit to the dentist, the 12 youngsters were given basic dental care advice and taught tooth brushing techniques.

Karen Sutton, from Beacon Dentalcare, said: “We are always delighted to help out the Chernobyl children when they come to Malvern. As a group they tend to have much worse teeth than our own children at the same age, with some of them having huge cavities in their grown up teeth by the age of nine.

“This year we even fixed the front tooth for one of the youngsters who had tripped over and snapped it in half, but had never had it repaired.

“It always makes me very emotional to see how brace these kids are and the issues that they face.”

Dentist David Watson added: “Even though it has been many years since the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and some of these children’s parents weren’t born at the time, the radiation leak is still causing problems today.

“The kids we have seen tend to have very low levels of saliva, which means they are much more at risk of cavities and gum disease. This could be a result of damage top their saliva glands from contamination of the environment where they live.

“They come from deprived backgrounds with no indoor plumbing or heating with little access to healthcare and basics such as toothpaste and brushes.”