A scheme to support three to five-year-olds with cleaning their teeth, known as the Big Brush Club, has now been expanded to all nursery, pre-school and reception settings at primary schools in Devon, including Plymouth.
Devon Leads the Way in Children’s Oral Health – Devon is the first area in the South West to expand supervised toothbrushing to all nursery, pre-school, and reception settings in primary schools, aiming to instill lifelong healthy habits.
Tackling Tooth Decay Through Prevention – With a quarter of five-year-olds experiencing tooth decay, the Big Brush Club provides daily supervised brushing sessions in schools, promoting self-care, healthy eating, and reducing sugar intake.
Professor Green Joins the Campaign – The rapper and health activist is supporting a regional competition to engage young children in oral health awareness through music and art, with prizes for participants and their schools.
Devon is the first area in the south west to expand supervised toothbrushing to all primary schools. The expansion coincides with the launch of a regional Big Brush Club competition supported by rapper Professor Green.
The scheme has been running in some areas of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay since 2023 and is now being rolled out to all primary schools in Devon which have an early years nursery, pre-school or reception class provision.
It is funded by NHS Devon, in partnership with Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council, and delivered by dentist provider At Home Dental.
Jonathan Bouwer-Davies, clinical dental adviser for NHS Devon said:
“We know a quarter of five-year-olds have tooth decay which can, in severe cases, lead to children needing hospital treatment.
Understanding how to brush your teeth properly is an important life skill for children. It takes schools five minutes a day and the benefits can be life-long.”
Councillor Mary Aspinall, Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care at Plymouth City Council, said:
“We’re absolutely delighted that the supervised toothbrushing scheme will now be available to all schools across Plymouth.
”When it comes to dental health, we know that prevention is better than cure and this is exacerbated by the difficulties our residents are experiencing when they try to access NHS dental care, so it’s absolutely vital that children create healthy habits at a young age. We really hope that all schools across the city take up this offer, as it has such a huge benefit for children.”
Under the scheme, teachers hold short, daily toothbrushing sessions for three- to-five-year-olds alongside lessons about self-care, healthy eating and reducing sugar.
Chief operations officer from At Home Dental, Hayley Beaumont, said:
“Our team of dental nurses work closely with teachers, pupils and parents to provide advice, support and training on promoting oral health. Each child is provided with a toothbrush and toothpaste pack to take home, encouraging toothbrushing to be a part of their normal daily routine.
“The children love doing it with their friends and the teachers report that it not only reduces problems with teeth but also school absence.”
Rapper and health activist Professor Green is helping the NHS raise awareness among families about the importance of children looking after their teeth, by launching an exciting competition to all primary schools across the south west.
Every child aged between three and five years old has been invited to take part in a competition with a music category and a colouring category.
The competition, which will run until the end of May, will give children the chance to win some fantastic prizes for both themselves and their school. Professor Green will join a judging panel for the competition.
Oral health is seen as a marker of wider health and social care inequalities including poor nutrition and obesity.
