Scottish study finds that preschool tooth-brushing program saves millions, improves kids' oral health
A little over a week ago, DentistryIQ alerted readers about the lack of local dental practitioners in sparsely-populated far-northern Scotland. The article revealed how the residents of at least one tiny village are driven by this lack of local dental care to travel at least 60 miles one way to go to the dentist.
RELATED:Residents of small Scottish village must travel 60 miles to visit dentist
Now, more heartening news is coming out of Scotland. A recent BBC News article cited a study done by Glasgow researchers on the results that the Childsmile program has had on children’s oral health. The Childsmile Program offers a dental pack containing a toothbrush and fluoride toothpaste to children up to age five, and also provides free, daily, supervised toothbrushing to every three- and four-year-old attending nursery school (equivalent to preschool in the US) in Scotland.
Researchers concluded that the supervised brushing of teeth reduced the cost of treating dental problems of five-year-olds by more than half during the years 2001-2010.
The program, which launched in 2001, not only emphasizes the importance of brushing teeth, but includes information for parents and guardians on how to help take care of their child’s teeth, including information on healthy eating habits.
Other findings of the study include:
· Fewer children needing fillings, general anesthesia, or dental extractions as a result of Childsmile
· Fewer children needing hospital treatment for dental concerns
Childsmile extends their oral care initiative to children in primary grades one and two who attend schools in need, adding fluoride varnishes to the regimen established in nursery school.
Michael Matheson, Minister of Public Health, sums up the benefits of the Childsmile program in this way:
"More children can just be treated routinely in the dental chair because they need less invasive treatments, so fewer fillings and fewer extractions, and many more children with much better oral health than we have seen in many years."
To read the BBC article, click here:
For more information on Childsmile, go to www.child-smile.org.uk.
