Free toothbrushes at schools across England to tackle 'Dickensian' oral health crisis

Free toothbrushes are being given out at schools across England to tackle the country’s “Dickensian” oral health crisis.

Some 600,000 three-to-five year olds have been given over two million toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste at day nurseries, pre-schools and school reception classes. It is the latest move by the Government to tackle the crisis which sparked the Mirror’s Dentists for All campaign.

Dentistry minister Stephen Kinnock told the Mirror: “It is Dickensian that a third of five-year-olds in the most deprived areas of this country have suffered tooth decay, and that children are most commonly admitted to hospital to get their teeth removed.

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“Our Plan for Change is tackling the country’s shameful health inequalities and rooting out these health issues that can have a lifelong impact on children as we drive forward a major shift in care from treatment to prevention.”

As part of our campaign the Mirror has published a series of hard-hitting reports from 'dental deserts' where many children have never seen a dentist and turn up in A&E needing multiple fillings and teeth removed.

The Government is currently consulting on reform of the “flawed” NHS dental contract which leaves dentists making a loss when treating such high needs patients and has driven an exodus of dentists into the private sector. Ministers have vowed to scrap the current system but there are doubts over whether the Treasury will substantially increase the funding for dentistry. Currently it is only enough to treat half the population in England.

The Government has rolled out supervised tooth brushing at schools in more deprived areas of the country. This latest scheme, in partnership with Colgate-Palmolive, will build on that and eventually hand out more than 23 million toothbrushing products to kids. These include brushes and paste for the classroom, to take home, and leaflets for parents on how to keep teeth healthy.

Minister Kinnock spoke while in Sheffield today visiting Tinsley Primary School to see how the rollout was progressing in the city, where nearly 9,500 children will receive brushing products this year. He said: “Our partnership with Colgate-Palmolive will help give children the best start in life by reinforcing good toothbrushing habits, vastly improving dental and oral health.”

Dr Oosh Devalia, president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, said: “The news of the progress being made in rolling-out the supervised toothbrushing initiatives targeting areas of highest need is welcomed… we have been pushing for this for over a decade.

“It is an evidence-based intervention that gives children a better oral health start in life, as well as saving money for the NHS in the long-term. This is a great start, but there is still much to do to reach all the children who need this support."

Some 13 million Brits are living with an “unmet need” for dental care according to official data. Recent polling suggested that among those who could not get an NHS dental appointment, 26% performed DIY dentistry such as yanking out their own teeth and 19% went abroad for treatment.

Education Minister Olivia Bailey said: “Giving children the best start in life means giving them the skills and habits that set them up for the future, and that includes something as simple but vital as daily toothbrushing. Through our Plan for Change, we are working across government to make sure tens of thousands more children – a record share – are school-ready at age 5, so they reach the school gate healthy, confident and ready to learn."

Colgate-Palmolive’s spokesperson Jimena Rodriguez said: “We believe every child deserves a healthier smile and a brighter future. The strides we are making today aren’t just about brighter smiles, they are about building a solid foundation for better health and brighter opportunities for generations to come.”

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It follows a series of special reports from some of Britain’s worst dental deserts where it is hardest to see an NHS dentist.

Dentist Rob Mew today revealed the upsetting cases he encountered since opening his books to new child patients every Thursday. He told how he was being fined £150,000 by the NHS in a funding “claw back” effectively for keeping his patients too healthy with regular check-ups and preventative work.

It is an example of the widely discredited NHS dental payment contract which pays dentists the same if a patient needs three fillings as if a patient needs 20 fillings.

A key demand of the Mirror’s Dentists for All campaign is reform of the contract which became one of Labour's main manifesto promises before the 2024 General Election.

The current £3 billion budget for England is only enough to fund care for half the population. The budget for England has fallen from £3.6 billion in a decade and the British Dental Association says this equates to a funding cut of a third in real terms.

Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association, said: “Supervised brushing is a tried and tested policy, that we back 100%. But NHS dentistry has ceased to exist for millions of families. Ministers must ensure the funding and reform are in place so kids can get the care they need.”