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Published: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 16:02

Written by News Editor

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A nursery toothbrushing programme has produced a saving to the cost of children’s dental treatment of just over £6million, according to a study carried out by the University of Glasgow. This found that in 2009/10, the toothbrushing initiative had seen the cost of treating dental disease reduce by over 50 per cent since 2001/02. The programme, which began in 2001 and costs around £1.8 million each year, sees every nursery in Scotland offering free, daily, supervised toothbrushing for their children by nursery staff. It is part of the Childsmile programme, which emphasises the importance of toothbrushing and helps parents establish a healthy diet from the earliest stage. A number of nurseries and schools in targeted areas also provide fluoride varnish and toothbrushing in primary one and two.

The success of the programme has been evaluated by the University of Glasgow in a major study funded by the Scottish Government. The study shows the full impact of the programme can be seen in terms of the number of dental extractions and fillings saved and fewer children needing general anaesthetics. Theatre time in hospital has been released because less children need intervention and can now just be treated routinely by their own dentist.

The NHS costs associated with the dental disease of five-year-old children decreased dramatically over time, with the findings suggesting that within three years the cost savings outweighed the costs of implementing the tooth brushing programme and by eight years the savings were in excess of three times these costs. These savings were associated with the national roll-out of the nursery toothbrushing programme and an improvement in children’s oral health.

Costs/savings resulting from dental treatments (in comparison with base year 2001/02)

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