Big Brush Club is a supervised toothbrushing programme targeted at 3–5-year-olds in primary schools and nurseries in areas of need. Provided by At Home Dental, it is the largest supervised toothbrushing programme in England, being delivered to nearly 50,000 children across the Southwest and covering 7 NHS ICB regions.
At Home Dental
At Home Dental is the UK’s largest mobile dental provider, delivering high-quality dentistry and oral health training and support to over 1000 care homes and more than 1000 educational settings.
Big Brush Club is At Home Dental’s supervised toothbrushing service, and it’s Project Facilitators are all fully qualified dental nurses. With expertise in oral health education, they focus on ensuring that young children in areas of deprivation receive the important intervention of supervised toothbrushing. At Home Dental supply oral health resources to the 1,000+ educational settings enrolled on the programme, including toothbrush racks, fluoride toothpaste and toothbrushes.
Big Brush Club is taking a holistic approach to developing healthy oral hygiene habits in children, promoting toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste during the school day as well as educating on correct brushing techniques, oral health and healthy eating. Through delivery of the supervised toothbrushing programme, At Home Dentalnot only focuses on prevention but also fosters long-term health benefits for all involved.[HB1]
The Importance of Early Oral Health Education
Oral health has a significant impact on a person’s overall health, with those in more deprived communities disproportionately affected. Hospital admissions for child tooth extractions in the Southwest of England reflect a concerning trend in childhood oral health.
“For the financial year 2022 to 2023, there were 47,581 episodes of tooth extractions for children aged 0-19 years across England, with 31,165 of these due to tooth decay.”
At Home Dental – Making a Difference
Big Brush Club targets these key areas, supporting children who stand to benefit the most from the initiative.
“Children who have high levels of disease [decay] in primary teeth have increased risk of disease in their permanent teeth. If treated these teeth require long term maintenance throughout life.”
Public Health England, Health matters: child dental health, 2017
At Home Dental’s Project Facilitator’s work closely with educational settings, providing them with the necessary training and resources to effectively implement supervised toothbrushing within their setting. This intervention ensures that children receive consistent toothbrushing with fluoride toothpaste, fostering a culture of good oral hygiene from an early age.
The long-term benefits of the supervised toothbrushing programme are considerable. By promoting consistent oral hygiene practices, the programme aims to reduce the incidence of dental problems among children, leading to fewer hospital visits and less time missed from school due to dental issues.
This ultimately serves to reduce pain and suffering in children, relieve a burden on the NHS and contribute to a healthier population. Children who develop good oral hygiene habits early are more likely to maintain these practices throughout their lives, ensuring better overall health and quality of life.
Feedback from Schools, Parents, and Public Health Representatives
At Home Dental’s Big Brush Club has received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from schools, parents/carers, and public health representatives.
Professor Zoe Marshman from Sheffield University who is conducting a research programme on supervised toothbrushing commented:
“How impressed we have been with the Big Brush Club’s implementation of supervised toothbrushing programmes in the Southwest. We have reviewed activities and resources for STBs across the country and have found the Big Brush Club’s work to be excellent. The quality of the website and social media content is exceptional and far surpasses any other programmes currently running.”
Educators appreciate the structured approach to teaching oral hygiene, which integrates seamlessly into the school day and EYFS curriculum. At Home Dental’s fully qualified team train school staff as Oral Health Champions by providing flexible and comprehensive training that covers implementation of the programme, infection control, oral health information and healthy eating advice.
“This training was great and made teeth-brushing in school seem a more achievable task. It felt quite overwhelming to think about adding this into a jam-packed day of teaching, but the training and video demonstrations made it seem quick and simple. I already have the resources and stock, so now I have ideas of where to set it up. The song is super catchy too and I know little ones will love it”.
Abbie Tozer, EYFS teacher Antony C of E Primary School
“The training was delivered as part of a whole school EYFS network day and was superbly delivered, informative and relevant. I will be signing my class and two other classes to take part. We as a school would like to have the team back to talk to parents.”
Michelle Mullen, St Stephen Churchtown
Parents and carers of children participating in the supervised toothbrushing programme have noted improvements in children’s dental hygiene habits.
“My son really enjoyed seeing you at his nursery and spoke lots about what he learnt, only use pea size amount, don’t have a drink after etc. Thank you so much”
Parent from Longvernal School,
The enthusiasm and support from these stakeholders underscore the programme’s effectiveness and its significant impact on children’s health and wellbeing.