New funding inspires brighter smiles in Salford schools and nurseries

In Salford, there are 257 school and nursery classes in operation, with 55% located in the top 20% of the most deprived areas, with the highest concentration in East Salford.

While the public health budget helped the first programme reach 61% of classes in Salford (157 out of 257), this new funding will support the Council's Oral Health team's to provide:

• Delivery of toothbrushing resources three times per year in line with school term times
  

• Personalised storage racks, toothbrushes, and toothpaste, plus resources for children with SEND, including multi-headed toothbrushes and non-foaming toothpaste.

• Support teachers in running daily group toothbrushing activities.
• School holiday take-home packs with advice on oral health and wider lifestyle health prevention offered twice a year.
• Online training and information to run programmes themselves, covering risk assessments, parent consent forms, cleaning plans, toothbrushing registers and engaging wall charts.

Biennial surveys will assess dental decay rates among 5-year-olds in Salford, supporting evaluation and future programme development.

Cllr John Merry, Deputy City Mayor and Lead Member for Adult Services, Health, and Wellbeing, said: "The prevalence of dental decay among 5-year-olds in Salford is 36.4%, significantly higher than the England average of 22.4%. This emphasises the urgent need for effective oral health improvement programmes like this one. I fully support the research which shows that the use of fluoride toothpaste significantly reduces the risk of dental decay. Additionally, implementing a supervised toothbrushing programme in nursery classes is strongly correlated with a decrease in dental decay, especially in the most disadvantaged areas. I recommend that all eligible schools accept this offer.

Furthermore, it is encouraging to see an increase in support for children with additional needs. It is essential to provide parents and caregivers with information that educates them not only about the risk factors for dental decay but also about ways to improve overall health and well-being. This illustrates our commitment to reducing health inequalities and aligns well with our corporate priorities of helping everyone in Salford live longer, healthier, and happier lives.”