Oral health now forms part of the Early Years Statutory Framework which is why when we recently received communication from Wolverhampton council asking for us to take part in a project to help encourage oral health in early child hood we did not want miss the opportunity to be able to support our children and also parents in knowing the importance of oral hygiene and tooth brushing.
Due to receipt of the funding working in partnership with Public Health and Royal Wolverhampton Trust we have recently received dental packs for children ages 3-4years in our setting.
“We are delivering a number of initiatives to tackle the increasing rates of tooth decay in the city amongst early years children, currently 1 in 4 children by the age of 5 years are affected by tooth decay in Wolverhampton and in some areas, this is further exacerbated affecting 1 in 3 children.
The project is targeted towards early years children to tackle the issues early, as a result of the funding we are distributing dental packs within nursery settings to all children aged 3-4 years, packs including toothpaste, tooth brush, sand timer and guidance literature”
Here are some top tip’s we would like to share with you
Our top tips for parents:
· Take your child to the dentist once their first tooth comes through, and by the age of 1, so they can get used to the experience.
· Did you know NHS dental check ups with treatment are FREE for children under 18 and pregnant mothers, until your baby’s first birthday!
· Toothbrushing should start as soon as the first baby tooth comes through.
· Teeth should be brushed at least twice a day, lasting about 2 minutes. If you need to help to make this more fun, try the BrushDJ app (
www.brushdj.com). Brush DJ is a free toothbrush timer app that plays 2 minutes of music and can set reminders to brush twice a day!
· An adult should supervise children with toothbrushing until at least 7 years old.
· Toothpaste contains fluoride, which prevents tooth decay. A smear of toothpaste is suitable for 0 – 3 year olds and a pea sized amount for 3 – 6 year olds.
· A toothbrush with a small size head and medium bristles helps make toothbrushing more effective.
Following this knowing oral hygiene is important for children from a young age we want to give you further information/guidance on how you can support and help your child in several ways regarding their teeth not from only brushing but also the help of reducing dummies and knowing when to change your child from a baby bottle with a teat to a cup.
You can visit the websites below to learn more about toothbrushing, oral health, dummy use and stopping the bottle and the appropriate age
If you have any questions about toothbrushing or oral health, please contact the nursery on info@bananamoon-ashmore.co.uk
