Responding to the launch of a supervised toothbrushing scheme for 3 to 5-year-old children in the most deprived areas of England to prevent tooth decay, Prof. Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh said:
In 2024, more than 1 in 4 five-year-olds in England had tooth decay and children from the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to have tooth decay than those from the least deprived areas.
Therefore, given the poor state of children’s dental health in England, we wholeheartedly welcome today’s latest step in government’s Plan for Change to give children the best start in life and prevent ill health.
Similar schemes throughout the UK have proven their worth. For example, both Childsmile (Scotland) and Designed to Smile (Wales) have led to substantial reductions in childhood decay, and Happy Smiles (NI) is targeted at the 20% most deprived children and includes supervised toothbrushing, education and healthy snacks.
Poor oral health in England is a sad indicator of health inequalities. In 2024, more than 1 in 4 five-year-olds in England had tooth decay and it is the leading cause of hospital admissions for children aged 5 to 9. Therefore, this scheme will not only address inequalities, but also free up theatre time and other pressures on hospital care.
Addressing oral health inequalities requires additional resource over and above supervised toothbrushing, so we hope this is a first step in introducing other elements such as encouraging dental visits and fluoride varnish. Water fluoridation also has a vital role to play, as has further reduction in children’s sugar intake.