The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) issued a ‘blueprint to improve children's oral health' to new Prime Minister Liz Truss, as she put her administration together and set out her policies.

The Society's message to the PM's new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Thérèse Coffey, lists the following ten steps:

  1. 1.

    Every child and young person (CYP) should have a dental home

  2. 2.

    Deliver a Dental Check by One (DCby1) before every baby's first birthday

  3. 3.

    Support vulnerable groups (asylum seeking children, looked after children and those in poverty) by expanding supervised toothbrushing schemes in early years settings, community water fluoridation and increasing the free school meals offer

  4. 4.

    Drive an equitable recovery of general anaesthetic (GA) services

  5. 5.

    Enable effective and funded Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs)

  6. 6.

    Oversee true integration of oral health, with initiatives such as Mini Mouth Care Matters (MMCM)

  7. 7.

    Ensure targeted, evidence-based intervention for vulnerable groups such as Looked After Children, CYP with learning disabilities and/or autism

  8. 8.

    Upskill and contractually enable primary dental care practitioners to provide evidence-based interventions using schemes such as Child Friendly/Focused Dental Practices (CFDP)

  9. 9.

    Support and develop the whole oral healthcare team

  10. 10.

    Expand the paediatric dental workforce - including provision of tier 2 services and recruiting community based specialists and consultants.

The coming months will see BSPD focus attention on vulnerable groups in the community as the priority. These groups include neglected children, children living in poverty (an alarming percentage of the population will be less able to afford toothbrushes and toothpaste this winter), asylum seekers and refugees. If put into action, the Society's blueprint would ensure that those most in need will be supported.

figure 1

Professor Claire Stevens CBE, BSPD spokesperson with a jar of extracted children's teeth

Professor Claire Stevens CBE, BSPD's spokesperson (pictured) said: ‘Our message to Liz Truss and Thérèse Coffey is - If you put the Society's blueprint into action, we will be ensuring those most in need will be supported. We have to remember that tooth decay remains the leading reason for hospital admissions among five to nine year olds. This is wholly unacceptable when we consider that dental caries is a largely preventable disease'.