School toothbrushing 'makes life easier' - parents

A trial to encourage more children to brush their teeth while under supervision at school is being rolled out across the country.

Children between the ages of three and five in the most deprived areas of England will be shown how to brush their teeth daily in a bid to prevent tooth decay.

Supervised toothbrushing began as part of the trial in the south west of England in 2023 and it has been heralded as a trailblazer by the government.

Tara, whose son Oliver receives the supervised toothbrushing, said it "makes life easier".

The government said the most common reason children aged between five and nine are admitted to hospital is to have treatment for decayed teeth.

Dental brand Colgate will donate more than 23 million toothbrushes as part of the national rollout.

Fair Furlong Primary School, in Bristol, was one of the first schools which introduced the scheme.

The school's head teacher Sarah Andrews said: "We haven't had a single person who says they don't want to do it.

"For the children it becomes a part of their routines, they're doing it everyday, and they're doing it with their friends, so it becomes what they do in school."

Tara said the initiative is "really important" for her family.

"I've had a lot of issues myself growing up, ended up with braces," she said.

"[I] don't really want him [her son] to through that, so to get him involved in this as well is making it more encouraging for him."

Health minister Stephen Kinnock said getting children to grips with teeth cleaning from an early age will benefit the NHS.

"An operation in a hospital is a lot more expensive giving a three to five-year-old child some toothpaste and a toothbrush," Mr Kinnock said.

"I think it's great to see the south west being a trailblazer in this area.

"Our scheme - £11m of new money for local authorities right across the country - will enable both the south west and other parts of the county to ramp up what they're doing."

The government said the roll out will reach up to 600,000 children every year.

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