Torbay Council is committed to improving the oral heath of all children in Torbay. As such, and working with NHS Devon we provide two important programmes that are now available to all primary schools and nurseries in Torbay:
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- Big Brush Club: Delivered by At Home Dental, this programme equips reception age children in primary schools and nurseries with everything that they need in order to deliver supervised toothbrushing sessions from within their setting. With a team of Oral Health Facilitators on hand to provide guidance and dental knowledge along with a comprehensive pack of engaging resources, the programme also helps support Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidelines. At present the programme is available to all schools and nurseries in Torbay.
- Open Wide Step Inside: Delivered by Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise, this programme is aimed at children in Year 2 and supports teachers with their early years statutory framework to promote good oral health and deliver important key oral health messages. This is a free 45-minute session which includes a 15-minute animated film about Geoffrey the Giant who doesn’t like to look after his teeth and has never visited the dentist! With the help of his friends, Geoffrey learns some important key oral health messages which are vital in keeping his mouth healthy. Following the film there will be an interactive session engaging with the children, instilling those important key messages. At the end of the session each child will receive an Oral health pack which include resources to enable toothbrushing at home. At present the programme is available to all schools and nurseries in Torbay.
Children who have toothache or who need treatment may have pain, infections, and difficulties with eating, sleeping and socialising. They may have to be absent from school and parents may also have to take time off work to take their children to a dentist or to hospital.
Oral health is, therefore, an important aspect of a child’s overall health status and to children’s school readiness, and is seen as a marker of wider health and social care issues including poor nutrition and obesity.
Children enjoy learning about looking after their teeth and this can be linked to the National Curriculum.
There are plenty of resources available for school staff to promote and achieve better oral health in their pupils.
