{"id":427451,"date":"2025-09-15T23:24:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T23:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/427451\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T23:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T23:24:16","slug":"free-toothbrushes-at-schools-across-england-to-tackle-dickensian-oral-health-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/427451\/","title":{"rendered":"Free toothbrushes at schools across England to tackle \u2018Dickensian\u2019 oral health crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dentistry minister Stephen Kinnock says: \u2018It is Dickensian that a third of five-year-olds in the most deprived areas of this country have suffered tooth decay\u2019\"ChildrenKids in England are being given toothbrushes and taught how to use them (stock)(Image: Getty Images\/age fotostock RM)<\/p>\n

Free toothbrushes are being given out at schools across England to tackle the country\u2019s \u201cDickensian\u201d oral health crisis.<\/p>\n

Some 600,000 three-to-five year olds have been given over two million toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste at day nurseries, pre-schools and school reception classes. It is the latest move by the Government to tackle the crisis which sparked the Mirror<\/a>\u2019s Dentists for All campaign.<\/p>\n

Dentistry minister Stephen Kinnock told the Mirror: \u201cIt is Dickensian that a third of five-year-olds in the most deprived areas of this country have suffered tooth decay, and that children are most commonly admitted to hospital to get their teeth removed.<\/p>\n

\"MinisterMinister for care with kids at Tinsley Primary School in Sheffield(Image: Paul David Drabble)READ MORE: Hundreds of Brits queue to register with NHS dentist sparking urgent warning<\/a>READ MORE: Millions of Brits with ‘unmet need’ give up even trying for NHS dentist appointment<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur Plan for Change is tackling the country\u2019s shameful health inequalities and rooting out these health issues that can have a lifelong impact on children as we drive forward a major shift in care from treatment to prevention.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of our campaign the Mirror has published a series of hard-hitting reports from ‘dental deserts’ where many children have never seen a dentist and turn up in A&E needing multiple fillings and teeth removed.<\/p>\n

The Government is currently consulting on reform of the \u201cflawed\u201d NHS<\/a> dental contract which leaves dentists making a loss when treating such high needs patients and has driven an exodus of dentists into the private sector. Ministers have vowed to scrap the current system but there are doubts over whether the Treasury will substantially increase the funding for dentistry. Currently it is only enough to treat half the population in England.<\/p>\n

\"HealthMinister Kinnock has previously suggested the total NHS dentistry budget is unlikely to substantially increase(Image: Paul David Drabble)<\/p>\n

The Government has rolled out supervised tooth brushing at schools in more deprived areas of the country. This latest scheme, in partnership with Colgate-Palmolive, will build on that and eventually hand out more than 23 million toothbrushing products to kids. These include brushes and paste for the classroom, to take home, and leaflets for parents on how to keep teeth healthy.<\/p>\n

Minister Kinnock spoke while in Sheffield today visiting Tinsley Primary School to see how the rollout was progressing in the city, where nearly 9,500 children will receive brushing products this year. He said: \u201cOur partnership with Colgate-Palmolive will help give children the best start in life by reinforcing good toothbrushing habits, vastly improving dental and oral health.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HealthDentistry budget cuts mean many children start school having never seen an NHS dentist(Image: Paul David Drabble)<\/p>\n

Dr Oosh Devalia, president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry, said: \u201cThe news of the progress being made in rolling-out the supervised toothbrushing initiatives targeting areas of highest need is welcomed\u2026 we have been pushing for this for over a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an evidence-based intervention that gives children a better oral health start in life, as well as saving money for the NHS in the long-term. This is a great start, but there is still much to do to reach all the children who need this support.”<\/p>\n

Some 13 million Brits are living with an \u201cunmet need\u201d for dental care according to official data. Recent polling suggested that among those who could not get an NHS dental appointment, 26% performed DIY dentistry such as yanking out their own teeth and 19% went abroad for treatment.<\/p>\n

\"HealthPupils at schools across England to get free toothbrushes and toothpaste(Image: Paul David Drabble)<\/p>\n

Education Minister Olivia Bailey said: \u201cGiving children the best start in life means giving them the skills and habits that set them up for the future, and that includes something as simple but vital as daily toothbrushing. Through our Plan for Change, we are working across government to make sure tens of thousands more children \u2013 a record share \u2013 are school-ready at age 5, so they reach the school gate healthy, confident and ready to learn.”<\/p>\n

Colgate-Palmolive\u2019s spokesperson Jimena Rodriguez said: \u201cWe believe every child deserves a healthier smile and a brighter future. The strides we are making today aren\u2019t just about brighter smiles, they are about building a solid foundation for better health and brighter opportunities for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: NHS reveals major change after dentist fined \u00a3150K for keeping teeth too healthy<\/a>READ MORE: Dentist: \u2018I feel guilty but I\u2019m quitting the NHS to earn more going private\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

It follows a series of special reports from some of Britain\u2019s worst dental deserts where it is hardest to see an NHS dentist.<\/p>\n

Dentist Rob Mew today revealed the upsetting cases he encountered since opening his books to new child patients every Thursday. He told how he was being fined \u00a3150,000 by the NHS in a funding \u201cclaw back\u201d effectively for keeping his patients too healthy with regular check-ups and preventative work.<\/p>\n

It is an example of the widely discredited NHS dental payment contract which pays dentists the same if a patient needs three fillings as if a patient needs 20 fillings.<\/p>\n

A key demand of the Mirror\u2019s Dentists for All campaign is reform of the contract which became one of Labour’s main manifesto promises before the 2024 General Election<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The current \u00a33 billion budget for England is only enough to fund care for half the population. The budget for England has fallen from \u00a33.6 billion in a decade and the British Dental Association says this equates to a funding cut of a third in real terms.<\/p>\n

Eddie Crouch, chair of the British Dental Association, said: \u201cSupervised brushing is a tried and tested policy, that we back 100%. But NHS dentistry has ceased to exist for millions of families. Ministers must ensure the funding and reform are in place so kids can get the care they need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Dentists for All campaignSave NHS Dentistry petition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sign our petition to save NHS dentistry<\/a> <\/strong>and make it fit for the 21st century<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our 3 demands<\/strong><\/p>\n

Everyone should have access to an NHS dentist<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 12 million people were unable to access NHS dental care last year \u2013 more than 1 in 4 adults in England. At the same time 90% of dental practices are no longer accepting new NHS adult patients. Data from the House of Commons Library showed 40% of children didn’t have their recommended annual check-up last year.<\/p>\n

Restore funding for dental services and recruit more NHS dentists<\/strong><\/p>\n

The UK spends the smallest proportion of its heath budget on dental care of any European nation. Government spending on dental services in England was cut by a quarter in real terms between 2010 and 2020. The number of NHS dentists is down by more than 500 to 24,151 since the pandemic.<\/p>\n

Change the contracts<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Parliamentary report by the Health Select Committee has branded the current NHS dentists’ contracts as \u201cnot fit for purpose\u201d and described the state of the service as “unacceptable in the 21st century”. The system effectively sets quotas on the maximum number of NHS patients a dentist can see as it caps the number of procedures they can perform each year. Dentists also get paid the same for delivering three or 20 fillings, often leaving them out of pocket. The system should be changed so it enables dentists to treat on the basis of patient need.<\/p>\n

Have you had to resort to drastic measures because you couldn\u2019t access an NHS dentist? <\/strong>Are you a parent struggling to get an appointment for a child? <\/strong>Email martin.bagot@mirror.co.uk<\/a> or call 0800 282591<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dentistry minister Stephen Kinnock says: \u2018It is Dickensian that a third of five-year-olds in the most deprived areas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427452,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5008],"tags":[748,145818,145819,2266,393,4884,2207,211,1258,285,857,49269,145817,122957,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-427451","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-england","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-colgate-palmolive-company","10":"tag-dentists-for-all","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-hospitals","15":"tag-nhs","16":"tag-nurseries","17":"tag-politics","18":"tag-schools","19":"tag-stephen-kinnock","20":"tag-strides","21":"tag-the-treasury","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115210896619874557","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427451\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}