Today’s announcement from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to invest a record £11 million to improve children’s oral health in England, is warmly welcomed by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD). The commitment to fund a targeted supervised toothbrushing scheme for three, four and five year olds in England is aligned to BSPD’s recommendation to invest in a preventative approach.
By combining Government funding with the generous corporate commitment from Colgate-Palmolive, the future of children’s oral health should improve significantly in the next two to five years. This costed and funded commitment will now see children attending schools and early years settings across the country receiving supervised toothbrushing and a supply of toothbrushes and toothpaste to take home. Evidence, from Scotland[1] shows that reaching children as early as possible with supervised toothbrushing schemes gives them a better oral health start to life, and saves money for the NHS in the long-term.
BSPD has been calling for targeted supervised toothbrushing in England for children for over ten years. The Society is aware of the barriers to bringing-to-life supervised toothbrushing schemes, which include funding and capacity, highlighted recently in recent research published in the British Dental Journal (BDJ) (see note to editors). Now with this significant commitment from Government and industry, these barriers have been addressed and progress can start.
The Government’s plans also include expansion of Community Water Fluoridation (CWF) across the North-East of England. BSPD has championed this approach since it can deliver substantial reductions in dental decay, abscesses, toothache, tooth extraction and the need for general anaesthetic and hospital admission, particularly in young children.
Dr Urshla Devalia, BSPD Media Spokesperson said: “At last we will see the dial shift on children’s oral health in England. BSPD has been advocating for the importance of a preventative approach to address the crisis in children’s oral health for years. Intervening now with a supervised toothbrushing scheme, plus community water fluoridation programmes are initiatives proven to deliver beneficial oral health outcomes that will pay for themselves severalfold in the future. Children’s oral health is everyone’s business, so we are delighted to see industry partners stepping up and taking on the role they can play in reducing oral health inequalities. We are excited to see this commitment to improving children’s oral health, but there is a lot of work to do, and BSPD is rolling up its sleeves to play its part. This is the decisive action we have been pushing for.”
