Dentists celebrate milestone in preventive push in schools
Professional body had led calls for expansion of the preventive policy pioneered in both Scotland and Wales
The British Dental Association has greeted the milestone that six million toothbrushes and toothpastes have now been delivered as part of the national supervised toothbrushing programme.
The professional body had led calls for expansion of the preventive policy pioneered in both Scotland and Wales, which Government modelling has long shown will save the NHS more than it costs to deliver.
The BDA underestands that in some localities uptake among schools has been low, and stressed its hope that Joe Wicks MBE, who will be joining the campaign to boost children’s oral health, will bring more on board.
Tooth decay is the number one reason for hospital admissions among young children. The BDA has also stressed that the government must double down to restore NHS care to millions.
Eddie Crouch, the BDA’s Chair, said: “Supervised toothbrushing is a winning formula – a tried and tested policy, that saves the NHS more than it costs to deliver. But in some areas uptake among schools has been low, and we sincerely hope Joe Wicks can bring new momentum.
“The Government has made the right calls here, but needs to go further and faster to restore access to care, so our kids can get preventive help before problems become emergencies.”