Absolutely. There's this idea that social problems are caused by laziness or poor moral standards, as if these things are in terminal decline. But the reality is that there are just as many lazy people now as there were 60 years ago. There are just as many shit parents as there were 60 years ago (although to be fair, more having to do it by themselves). The difference is the environment they're in. You've got a country that is impossible to live in without having two parents working. You've got more and more people having to move far away from their family, so they can't rely so much on grandparents for help. You've got supermarkets full of ultra processed food that is quicker and easier to cook, and lasts longer in your cupboard/freezer. And now you're not getting your kids' regular dental checkup. Is it any wonder there are so many fat kids with shit teeth? I remember watching an early episode of QI where they pointed out that British kids had the healthiest teeth in the world. I wonder how far we've fallen since that was recorded.
Is it nanny state? I went to primary school in the late 80s, early 90s, and we definitely had a dentist come in to teach us how to properly brush our teeth. Is that really a controversial idea? Is it any different from the firefighters coming in to talk about fire safety, or the police doing a class on road safety? If it's the actual teachers having to teach it, that's another story. I reckon they've probably got enough on their plates with the maths, English, science, etc, without expecting them to solve all of society's problems on top of that, especially those caused by lack of funding in other areas.
