This is the way we brush our teeth…
A quarter (25.8 per cent) of 5-year-olds in London have tooth decay.1
Since 2012, local authorities have been responsible for improving health in local areas, including oral health.
In 2014, Public Health England stated that “local authorities are statutorily required to provide or commission oral health promotion programmes to improve the health of the local population, to an extent that they consider appropriate in their areas”.
London Boroughs commission a range of oral health prevention programmes for both adults and children, including supervised toothbrushing in schools. The London Borough of Brent commissions Whittington Health NHS Trust to deliver these programmes, including the following initiatives:
- Supporting a number of education (early years & school) settings to promote good oral health such as the supervised tooth-brushing programme.
- Providing dental health support to families with children under 5 years who are at high risk of developing tooth decay (dental caries).
- Family Wellbeing Centres, who support parents from the moment they know they’re expecting, through pregnancy and birth, until the child is 18 years old.
Tomorrow, Members of the London Assembly Health Committee will visit Brentfield Primary School, where they will observe supervised toothbrushing, an initiative to reduce tooth decay in young children.
The meeting will include teachers, Brent Public Health and the NHS. The visit will form part of the Committee’s investigation into Dentistry in London.
MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THIS FILMING/PHOTO OPPORTUNITY BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENT
Location: Brentfield Primary School, NW10 0SL
Date: Wednesday 16 October 2024
Time: 12-1pm
Interviewees will include:
- Krupesh Hirani AM, Chair of the Health Committee
- Emma Best AM, Deputy Chairman of the Health Committee
- Somebi Anwunah, Principal Public Health Strategist · Brent Council
- Erinna Proudfoot, Oral health promoter, Whittington Health, NHS Trust
- Debbie Edwards, Class Teacher and EYFS Leader
Notes to editors
- According to the National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP), in London 13.5 per cent of school children aged 16-years and 25.8 per cent of school children aged 5-years had experience of tooth decay, for the academic years 2022/23 and 2021/22, respectively
- Krupesh Hirani AM, Chair of the Health Committee, is available for interview.
- Find out more about the London Assembly Health Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.