HAC6121 Children’s Oral Health Specialist Service

This service will provide system-wide specialist leadership and service provision on oral health across the local children’s partnership, with a particular focus on early years. It will bring together current investment into a single service, integrating four evidence-based components to ensure the most cost-effective interventions are delivered at scale:

1. Strategic oversight and training offer: to ensure all professionals across the borough are sharing the same key oral health messages and are confident to support families. This will include working with faith and community organisations to promote oral health and develop culturally appropriate resources to respond to existing oral health inequities.

2. Oral health checks and fluoride varnish application: Like the existing ‘Healthy Teeth in Schools’ service, this will deliver 6-monthly oral health checks of children’s teeth and apply protective fluoride varnish to all children in schools aged 3-6 years (nursery, Reception and Year 1).

3. Universal supervised toothbrushing programme: This programme trains early years settings such as nurseries to support children to brush their teeth on a daily basis. It includes training, provision of materials, quality assurance and infection control. This is a highly cost-effective programme that has demonstrated impact on home toothbrushing practices, as well as ensuring children from all backgrounds are supported to establish good oral health practices. The government has funded a targeted programme in the borough in 25/26. This programme will extend to all nurseries, as local analyses shows that a targeted programme will miss children in higher-risk groups.

4. Provision of Brush for Life Packs at health visiting contacts. Provision of toothbrush/toothpaste packs to every child at the four health visiting contacts between 4 months and 2 years of age. This will provide material support for families experiencing poverty and work to safeguard against dental neglect.