Supervised toothbrushing toolkit to tackle tooth decay in children

Supervised toothbrushing toolkit to tackle tooth decay in childrenA new toolkit to increase supervised toothbrushing for younger children aims to address health equalities caused by tooth decay.Researchers from the University of Sheffield, University of Leeds and Bradford Improvement Academy have developed free online resources for NHS organisations, local government, schools, nurseries and parents, as part of the BRUSH project to better support existing and new toothbrushing programmes. 1 A quarter of five-year-olds in England have tooth decay; this can rise up to 50% in deprived areas of the country.The burden of tooth decay is significant, causing pain, as well as affecting what children eat, their speech, sleep, quality of life and attendance at nursery or school.Treatment of decay is the most common reason why young children are admitted to hospital (33,000 each year), costing the NHS over £50 million annually.Co-lead of the study, Professor Zoe Marshman, Professor in Dental Public Health at the University of Sheffield, said: 'One of the key ways to prevent tooth decay is toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste.Toothbrushing programmes in nurseries and early years at school are really important to complement toothbrushing at home.'We already know supervised toothbrushing programmes for young children are effective in reducing tooth decay, and easy for nurseries/schools to run.However, the uptake and maintenance of these programmes has been fragmented.'The new toolkit will make it easier for new toothbrushing programmes to be set up, meaning more children will be able to benefit from the programmes so less children suffer from tooth decay and its consequences.'