Promoting Oral Health

At Deerhurst Day Nursery we strive to raise awareness of the importance of good oral health for children. 

We accept that every contact helps in the promotion of improving outcomes for all children and that no one person or organisation takes sole responsibility in tackling oral health challenges. We know that only 62% of 3-5 year olds go to the dentist.

Dental decay is a serious problem in young people – and it is largely preventable. In 2017 in England, almost a quarter of five year olds had experienced tooth decay, having an average of 3 or 4 decayed teeth. Figures suggest that more than 105 children a day have their teeth removed in hospital due to tooth decay. 

How can we promote Oral Health at Deerhurst Day Nursery?

• All snacks provided at Nursery are ‘tooth friendly.’
• Staff are trained in children’s oral health to ensure they fully understand good practices and can promote these to children and parents
• Any food or drink containing high levels of sugar will be restricted and are only provided on a limited basis, for example when linked to important celebrations as part of traditions or because of a child’s specific dietary need.
• Snack provision is used to promote healthy choices and widen the variety of foods tried by the children. Our focus on gardening throughout the year seeks to engage interest in eating and trying new seasonal foods. We gently encourage children to revise past attitudes about particular foods when socially eating with their peers.
• Where possible cooking and snack times will coordinate with the planned provision to talk about and explore seasonal fruit and vegetables through touch, taste and smell. Children will be first encouraged to try these foods in their raw natural form.
• Regular planning will include appropriate content to promote teeth brushing and healthy tooth friendly eating routines and choices.
• Children are given only milk or water to drink throughout the day. Children will be encouraged to drink from a free-flowing cup as soon as they are physically able, and parents will be advised to stop using bottles with teats from 12 months old.
• We have a ‘Healthy Choices Award’ for the lifestyle and food choices we encourage at Deerhurst. We ensure any foods higher in sugar are served at mealtimes in a balanced situation. This also creates an array of conversations about food which are good and bad for our teeth and bodies.
• During lunch times children are taught about which foods are the ‘tooth friendly’ choices and guided to eat those first. Filling up on healthy choices before any foods that have a high sugar content.
• Parents are given information throughout the year to promote good oral health. They are given information through newsletters, parents information boards and on admission. Good oral health is also shared on children’s learning journey’s so parent’s can develop knowledge of how to support their children at home. From April 2022, a free toothbrush will be provided for each child, reinforcing the importance of replacing toothbrushes or their heads every 3 months.

FAQ for Parents:

Q1. When should my child be known to a dentist?

Answer: Children should be registered with a dentist when their first tooth begins to erupt. It can be helpful for children to go to the dentist with their grown ups from an early age so the dentist becomes a familiar place for them to visit

Q2. How frequently should I brush my child’s teeth?

Answer: As soon as teeth erupt they should be brushed twice each day with toothpaste containing at least 1000ppm fluoride last thing at night and one other occasion in the day. Brushing teeth before bedtime is important because fluoride protects the teeth overnight. Parents should supervise tooth brushing.

Q3. How much toothpaste should they use?

Answer: Children age 0-3 will use a smear of toothpaste, children 3-6 years of age will use a pea size amount. “A pea size blob is just the job!” Children age 3-6 years can be encouraged to spit out their toothpaste, however do not encourage them to rinse.

Q4. How long should we brush our teeth?

Answer: Children brush their teeth for approximately 2 minutes. Try to encourage children to focus on 30 sections for each of the four sections of their mouth – 30 seconds top right, 30 seconds top left, 3 seconds bottom left, 30 seconds bottom right. Visual sand timers and various children’s tooth brushing apps can support children to recognise the time they need to spend on this.