UK MP calls for tooth-test for Calais children coming to UK, dentists condemn
A Tory MP who called for child migrants arriving in the UK from Calais to have their teeth tested to verify their ages has been condemned by dentists.
A number of unaccompanied children from the “Jungle” camp have arrived to join relatives in the UK – amid suggestions they could be adults trying to get in.
David Davies, MP for Monmouth, said mandatory teeth checks would reassure people the UK was not being exploited.
But the British Dental Association said such checks would be unethical.
The BDA, which represents dentists and dental students in the UK, also disputed claims that dental radiographs can accurately determine whether someone is under the age of 18 or not.
The first children with links to Britain arrived this week, after French authorities ratified a list drawn up by the charity Citizens UK, which is working with the government to bring unaccompanied minors over from Calais.
However, photographs of some of the children have been printed on the front pages of some national newspapers, along with headlines questioning their ages.
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