The Labour Party announcement in October proposing a supervised toothbrushing scheme to target three, four and five-year-olds in the 20% most deprived areas in England was warmly received by the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD).

Based on the CORE20 part of the CORE20PLUS51 initiative, the costed and funded proposal would see children attending schools and nurseries in areas of socioeconomic deprivation receiving supervised toothbrushing and a supply of toothbrushes and toothpaste to take home.

BSPD has been calling for supervised toothbrushing in England for children for over ten years. There is evidence from Scotland2 that reaching children as early as possible with supervised toothbrushing schemes gives them a better oral health start to life and is more cost effective in the long term for the NHS. Additional investment has also been announced, increasing the number of children who should be able to see an NHS dentist.

Professor Claire Stevens CBEsaid:‘This is a serious plan to grip both the immediate crisis and set NHS dentistry on the path to recovery in the long-term. BSPD believes that every child should have a “dental home” - an ongoing and preventively focused relationship with an NHS dentist. However, with children's dental services in crisis we urgently need to put a blanket of support around the most vulnerable children in our society. We must recognise that some children need greater help to get the oral health start in life that every child deserves. We welcome these measures as we know we need urgent action to address the persistent and immoral inequalities we see in children's oral health.'