Oral Health and Hygiene

At St Mary’s C of E Primary School, we believe that oral health is a key health and wellbeing priority. We aim to support families in registering with a Dental Practice whilst also regularly sending out information regarding good oral health. We aspire to educate our pupils through our Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and PSHE sessions, which promote regular dental visits and inform our pupils of the importance of good oral health and hygiene.

Promoting oral health in Early Years and at St Mary’s C of E Primary School is essential to protect young teeth and establish good habits. Oral hygiene is very important in achieving overall good oral health.

Dental decay is a serious problem in young people and it is largely preventable:

The government’s National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) survey for the school year 2021/22, shows that 23.7 per cent of five-year-old children have experienced tooth decay. The NDEP survey found the national prevalence of 5-year-old children with enamel and/or dentinal decay was 29.3%.

Figures suggest that more than 105 children a day have their teeth removed in hospital due to tooth decay.
An average of 3 days of school are missed due to dental problems
In 2017 in England, almost 25% of five-year-olds had experienced tooth decay, with an average of 3 or 4 decayed teeth.

This can be a result of one or more of the following reasons:

• Eating a poor diet.

• Brushing teeth less than twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.

• Coming from a deprived background.