Nearly a quarter of five-year-old children in England have tooth decay. In deprived areas of the country the proportion is even higher. And it isn’t just one problematic tooth – children with decay have, on average, three or four affected teeth. It’s the most common reason why young children aged from five to ten years are admitted to hospital.
When Labour leader Keir Starmer announced the party’s intention to expand toothbrushing programmes in nurseries and schools, he faced criticism for planning to take away responsibility from parents and place further burden on schools.
But supervised toothbrushing for young children already takes place. It has been rolled out in Scotland and for deprived areas in Wales and takes place in some areas in England. It is effective in reducing tooth decay, especially for children in deprived areas. It is not meant to replace brushing teeth at home, but strengthens good oral health practices.
As experts in dental health, we know all too well the impact poor oral health has on the lives of children and families. We are leading a project to improve toothbrushing programmes in nurseries and schools in England, and have recently developed an online toolkit to help schools, nurseries and parents as well as the NHS and local government.
