Dental decay is one of the most common preventable childhood diseases and tooth extractions are the biggest reason children are admitted to hospital for general anaesthetics in the UK.
Promoting oral health is now a statutory duty under the new EYFS for all early years settings and schools.
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There has been a change in the safeguarding and welfare section of the EYFS, promoting children’s oral health
Section 3 – The safeguarding and welfare requirements
Health
Medicines
p32 3.45. The provider must promote the good health, including the oral health, of children attending the setting. They must have a procedure, discussed with parents and/or carers, for responding to children who are ill or infectious, take necessary steps to prevent the spread of infection, and take appropriate action if children are ill.
Public Health England have developed a quick guide to a healthy mouth in children and a Toolkit for Prevention to help prevent tooth decay. Supervised toothbrushing is encouraged and supported for early years settings. Further information about childhood oral health and early years foundation stage, can be found on the EYFS oral health information page.
Start brushing a baby’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste as soon as the first milk tooth breaks through or at the introduction of solid foods whichever is earliest.
Supervised toothbrushing is not a requirement but daily supervised toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste in early years and nursery school settings is an effective way to reduce tooth decay. Early years settings can provide a suitable supportive environment for children to take part in daily supervised toothbrushing, teaching them to brush their teeth from a young age and encourage support for brushing at home.
Guidance for setup:
Resources:
Brush for about two minutes twice a day:
Supervise tooth brushing until a child is 7 or 8 years old:
if they brush their own teeth, by watching how they do it
Use fluoride toothpaste. This helps to prevent and control tooth decay.
The more often a child has sugary or acidic foods or drinks, the more likely they are to have decay therefore:
Contacts
Deborah Amphlett – (General Enquiries)
Dawn Butler – (General Enquiries)
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