Norfolk Dentists To Visit Classrooms As Council Funds Toothbrushes For Children
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- Published: Wednesday, 01 November 2023 09:29
- Written by Guy Tuggle
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Within days of the Labour Party announcement that, should it form a government, children in the most deprived communities would receive supervised toothbrushing sessions in school, the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) has set aside £20,000 to fund school visits by dentists to teach children the basics of good oral health habits.
The initiative which is to run for six months, is in response to a damning report earlier this year which revealed that children in the area have the highest incidence of tooth decay in the East of England with one in four five-year-olds affected. Lynn and West Norfolk rans as one of England’s black spots for the disease.
West Norfolk councillor Alexandra Kemp has campaigned for action to improve the oral health of children in the area. She said “This is great news as there is a huge need for this to be taught in schools. We have to get a grip on this problem and children’s dental health needs to be prioritised.”
So concerned is Ms Kemp about the crisis, which has in considerable part been brought about by the shortage of NHS dentists in the area, that she has donated £300 of the allowances she receives for her work as a councillor to a local supermarket, the Purfleet Pantry, to supply children’s toothpaste and brushes to parents without charge.
NHS Norfolk and Waveney’s spokesperson said: “Improving children and young people’s oral health is an important consideration with our recently published short-term dental plan and will be a key priority in the ICB’s longer-term strategy to improve patient access to dental services and improve oral health outcomes for our local population.”
Sending dentists into schools to teach children the do’s and don’ts of good oral health is a laudable move, however, some might question the wisdom of taking dentists out of their surgeries at a time when so many people are desperate to see them.
For every dentist there are dozens more dental nurses and hygienists, many of whom work part time and are adept at talking to young children on their own terms.
The precise working of the Norfolk initiative has yet to be explained. It could entail dentists being paid to visit schools outside of their usual working hours so that no surgery time is lost.
ICBs might consider if there are more cost effective alternatives (to dentists) that would enable oral health messaging to be spread further and wider. The need, after all, has never been greater.
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