Members of the document's working group (left to right): Gill Davies (BASCD), Colette Bridgman (chair), Tony Jenner (Department of Health), Clare Jones (collator), Selina Master (BSDH), Mark Taylor (BDA), Liana Zoitopoulos (BASCD) and Amit Bose (Department of Health)

The Department of Health has launched new supplementary guidance focusing on oral health improvement in adults and children with disabilities.

Valuing people's oral health. A good practice guide for improving the oral health of disabled children and adults carries forward many of the key principles included in Valuing people, the Government's White Paper on learning disability. The document is intended to influence the provision of key actions, oral health programmes and services required to improve and secure oral health for children and adults with impairment and disability.

The Deputy Chief Dental Officer, Tony Jenner, said, 'Valuing people's oral health is an important document advising best practice. The NHS has a responsibility to ensure the equality of provision of care to all groups in society. If implemented correctly, this guidance will be very helpful to PCTs in improving the oral health of the local disabled population.'

The guidance recommends that oral health needs to become integrated into holistic health policy at all levels and should be included in every individual care plan. Effective integration of oral health into the mainstream health agenda is required to ensure oral health issues are not omitted or dealt with separately and seen as 'the dentist's' problem.

Good oral health is an important factor in overall health and well-being for people with impairment and disability and its benefits should not be underestimated. Among the document's key recommendations are building competence through training and sharing of knowledge, and providing information in appropriate formats to overcome communication barriers.