PUPILS of Bream’s Church of England Primary School have been taking part in The Big Brush Club scheme, a programme commissioned by the NHS.

The aim of the programme is for every child to brush their teeth with fluoride toothpaste once a day, and ideally twice a day. The NHS says this will reduce oral hygiene inequalities among children.

The school said children in Reception have enjoyed the toothbrushing sessions so much they’ve even made up their own toothbrushing song.

Nicky Brice, Headteacher of Bream CoE Primary School said: “Our pupils love being in the Big Brush Club, they have been great at listening and learning all about toothbrushing and it is lovely to see them getting their special toothbrushes out each day.

“We know that this programme will be making a massive difference to supporting our children to learn good habits and look after their teeth. Anything we can do to boost the health and wellbeing of the children at our school is important, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fun and we know our Reception children are really enjoying their morning brushing sessions.”

The Bream pupils are just a handful of thousands of school children in Gloucestershire who have been accessing supervised toothbrushing sessions.

The programme, commissioned by the NHS, is in partnership with local authorities and delivered by dentist provider, At Home Dental. It has been rolled-out to children living in areas of greatest tooth decay across South West England.

The Big Brush Club has been rolling out the sessions across 113 schools and nurseries with more than 6,000 children aged between three and five taking part in the scheme.

As part of the Big Brush Club, teachers are trained to hold short, daily toothbrushing sessions alongside lessons about self-care, healthy eating and reduction of sugar. This goes hand-in-hand with all schools being required to promote healthy eating, including sugar reduction and drinking water.

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member for Public Health at Gloucestershire County Council said: “The Supervised Toothbrushing Programme helps children build a lifelong habit of looking after their teeth, which is encouraged in the classroom and continued in the family home. Good oral health is fundamental to a child’s overall health and wellbeing, confidence and ability to thrive at school.

“By working together with health and education professionals, we can reduce health inequalities and ensure every child has the opportunity to enjoy good oral health.”

The NHS said almost a fifth of 5-year-olds in the South West have tooth decay despite it being largely preventable. Tooth extraction is also the most common reason for six to ten-year-olds being admitted to hospital.

Christina Worle, Dental Strategy Clinical Lead at NHS Gloucestershire said: “It is a simple step but will really help prevent dental decay and set each child up for life with good knowledge of how to look after their teeth. We hope we can get even more schools signed up in the new school year.”

More advice on oral health can be found via the NHS website.