Paediatric oral health resources for professionals

Stats and Facts

  • Tooth decay is the most common oral disease affecting oral health tips.pngchildren and young people in England. It is preventable.
  • 24% of 5 year old children have tooth decay and have on average 3 teeth affected. This figure rises to 29% across Yorkshire and the Humber.
  • 11% of 3 year olds have visible tooth decay with an average of 3 teeth affected.
  • Some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people (including isolated groups such as young carers and military families) may have more significant oral health problems.
  • Tooth decay is the most common reason for hospital admissions for children aged 5 to 9 years.

Resources

OH poster image.pngOur resources section on West Yorkshire Healthier Together includes a poster for professional use, promoting the oral health pages with an easy access QR code.

Delivering better oral health. This is an evidence based toolkit to support dental teams in improving both oral and general health within the population.

Child oral health: Applying all our health. This guide for child oral health  is part of ‘All Our Health’, a resource which helps health and care professionals prevent ill health and promote wellbeing as part of their everyday practice.

Improving oral health for children and young people. Useful tips, facts, infographics and oral health related statistics for health visitors, school nurses and practice nurses.

mini mouth care matters.png Mini Mouth Care Matters (Mini MCM) for Children and Young People Receiving Palliative and End of Life Care. Children and young people (CYP) who receive palliative and end of life care (PEoLC) require specific mouth care and oral health advice. This vulnerable group can be at increased risk of dental decay and other oral conditions. Health professionals who look after these CYP are therefore in a key position to influence their oral health. This e-learning module and toolkit have been designed to empower nurses, healthcare assistants and other allied healthcare professionals to lift the lip and make every contact count. Through utilisation of both the e-learning and toolkit you will be able to embed Mini Mouth Care Matters within your department.

DOE useful resources.png Help for early years providers : Oral health this includes a list of useful references from the department of education.

Toothbrushing demonstration

Some health professionals may be required to demonstrate the correct tooth brushing technique for children and babies. The video below, developed by the Leeds School of Dentistry, is designed to guide your toothbrushing demonstrations and is aimed at healthcare visitors. It describes effective toothbrushing demonstrations to parent and carers of babies aged 1 to 2.

HABIT Training

HABIT supports Health Visitors, and their wider team, to have effective oral health conversations with parents of young infants. It is underpinned by robust behaviour change theory (including systematic reviews, qualitative interviews, intervention mapping and community engagement).

We continue to undertake research in this area, and are exploring the value of different training approaches, as well as upskilling nursery nurses within the Health Visiting team to u​​​​​​​ndertake oral health champion roles.

For furth​​​​​​​er information, please have a look at our website or get in touch:

University of Lee​​​​​​​ds, School of Dentistry.

p.f.day@leeds.ac.uk

e.r.Forshaw@leed.ac.uk