Supervised Toothbrushing
Establishing good oral health habits from an early age is vital in helping children avoid tooth decay and develop lifelong routines that support their overall wellbeing.
St Helens Wellbeing Team offer a range of training to early years settings and schools across St Helens. Designed to support the introduction and delivery of Supervised Toothbrushing Programmes in line with National Guidance and supporting the EYFS framework.
Our staff are trained, motivated and enthusiastic to support your setting to implement toothbrushing.
How does it work?
- We will deliver training to your staff
- Allocate resources including toothbrushes and toothpastes
- Key oral health messages
- Organisation of the programme
- Operation of the programme
- Cross infection and prevention
Supervised Toothbrushing FAQ
Will I be able to fit the brushing routine into our busy daily schedule? - Yes, it doesn’t take very long once the staff and children get into the routine, a class of 30 can easily do it within 10 -15minutes.
When is the best time during the day for us to carry out the toothbrushing? - When it fits best with your daily schedule and staffing levels, but to bear in mind it must be carried out at least 30 minutes after eating lunch or snack time, and ideally half an hour before eating lunch or snack time. This allows the fluoride time to topically help protect their teeth.
Do we need to put the lids on our brush buses/tooth trains?
Lids should be put back on after brushes have been allowed to fully air dry first, but the new recommendation is, you no longer need to put the lid back on at all, as long as the brush buses/tooth trains are not stored in a toileting area, and are high up on a shelf and cupboard, out of reach of children, they can remain without lids.
What is the amount of toothpaste the children have on their brushes?
Children aged 2-3 yrs old use a smear, 3-7yrs old a pea size blob.
What do we put their toothpaste onto?
You can dispense the toothpaste onto a plate, plastic or other, or onto a paper towel if you use them in your setting and then staff or the child can scoop it onto their brush. This prevents cross contamination.
How long do they brush for?
For 2 minutes or longer if you wish, a 2-minute timer will be provided if you need them.
If a child has sensory needs and doesn’t like to brush their teeth?
We can provide them with a toothpaste that has no taste and is non-foaming to try, which may make it an easier experience for them and staff or parents at home.
Even if a child doesn’t brush, if they put the toothpaste into their mouth this is far better than not at all.
How do I access the service?
To find out more information, please use our contact form and we will get back to you.
Get in touch with us today
Telephone 01744 371111 or Email chcp.sthelens@nhs.net
