School dental health drive benefits thousands of children

Thanks to a partnership between the Government and Colgate-Palmolive, over two million toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste have been delivered to children in the most deprived areas of England.

This is the beginning of a five-year collaboration to help children develop positive toothbrushing habits and set them on a path to better oral health. 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes have been committed over the next five years to support the programme.  

Initially, up to 600,000 3–5-year-olds in early years settings will benefit from the scheme which will help to develop good toothbrushing habits this school year.

The programme is expected to return £3 for every £1 the Government invests, with a potential of over £34 million generated for the investment committed this year over the next five years.

Decayed teeth is the most common reason for  a 5–9-year-old child to be admitted to hospital in England. 70 children a day are having teeth extracted due to decay.

Health minister Stephen Kinnock visited a primary school in Sheffield to see how the rollout was progressing in the city.

Kinnock said: "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.

"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. 

"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."

Education minister and minister for Equalities 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.

"Alongside delivering important schemes like this one, we have increased access to high-quality early years care for hundreds of thousands of families through the rollout of 30 hours’ government-funded childcare, and through our Best Start in Life strategy we’re going even further to rebuild early years services, recruit more early years teachers and open Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority."