This Sunday was National Oral Health Day.

Nationally, there is a high number of children and young people suffering from tooth decay. This is highly preventable. It has been noted that up to a third of five year old children and twelve per cent of three year old children have experienced tooth decay, and the largest reason for hospital admissions for children aged between five to nine years old is for tooth extraction.

It has been recognised that there is a link between poor oral health (e.g. children suffering with toothache, infections, and who need treatment) and problems with children eating, sleeping, socialising and learning.

It is extremely important that good oral health habits are formed at the earliest age. Within nursery we do a range of different fun and exciting ways of promoting healthy eating habits and good oral health! Some ideas you may like to do at home too:

• setting up a toothbrushing activity with dolls/soft toys and real tooth brushes
• creating a dentist role-play activity
• making a big mouth with teeth using recyclable materials
• You could play a target practise game where you make “clean teeth” dirty by throwing mucky sponges and some “clean teeth” then really focus on brushing them clean.

Use pictures and books about brushing their teeth and going to the dentist.

Below are some useful resources in promoting good oral hygiene in children

Public Health England: health matters child dental health, guidance to help you prevent tooth decay in children under 5, including links to e-learning.

Children’s Oral Health: healthcare e-learning, aimed at parents, early years healthcare workers, teachers, nurses, GPs and the public.

Oral Health Foundation: early years foundation stage, how children can keep their mouth healthy and the best way to brush your teeth.

Improving oral health in early years: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Pathways.

PACEY’s oral health advice: includes factsheet for parents.

PACEY’s nutrition spotlight, encouraging healthy eating habits.

Delivering oral health from Public Health England, includes a quick guide to healthy mouths in children.

Change4life children’s centre toolkit from Public Health England, for promoting healthy eating and dental health.

Information taken from Early Years Leadership March 2022

Our Pudsey nursery have been used as an example for promoting Oral Health in a recent Leeds For Learning publication…. here is the link to see how Oral Health is embedded in their daily practice.

Oral health – it’s not just about brushing teeth! | Leeds for Learning