According to health watchdog NICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – the dental health of children in the UK can be improved by encouraging teachers to show them how to brush whilst at school. NICE blamed the high number of rotten teeth on parents allowing children to eat and drink products high in sugar and suggested that primary school teachers should hold supervised brushing sessions at least once a day.
Some teaching unions are not in agreement and maintain that it is the parent’s responsibility to teach children to brush their teeth, citing a reduction in learning time if this guideline is enforced.
The government group says that there is still a heightened level of decay among poorer households in the UK and professor Mike Kelly, director of the Centre for Public Health at NICE, said that ‘as a society we should help parents and carers give their children the best start in life and act now to stop the rot before it starts.’
The new guidelines recommend a brushing session once a day for children under eleven years of age, which may be the only time some children brush their teeth during the day.