MORE than 10,000 young children across hundreds of Early years settings in the Devon County Council area will benefit from a supervised toothbrushing scheme which was launched last week.

The launch coincided with new figures that shows that a fifth all of five-year-olds in the Devon County Council area (excluding West Devon) have some form of tooth decay with rates in South Hams being amongst the highest nationally.

The Big Brush Club has been running in some areas of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay since 2023.

Now the scheme, for three-five-year-olds, is being rolled out to all Devon primary schools who have an Early Years nursery, pre-school or reception class.

So far 10,225 children are taking part in 225 settings with more signing up each day.

It is funded by NHS Devon, in partnership with Devon Public Health, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council, and delivered by dentist provider At Home Dental.

It follows the launch of the latest National Dental Epidemiology Programme (NDEP) survey, which was published on February 11, which shows that 21.2 per cent of five year-olds in Devon had some form of dental decay in 2024.

Another study has also concluded that targeted supervised tooth brushing can save 2,666 days of school absence for every 5,000 children.

Under the scheme, teachers hold short, daily toothbrushing sessions alongside lessons about self-care, healthy eating and reducing sugar.

Each child is provided with a toothbrush and toothpaste pack to take home, encouraging toothbrushing to be a part of their normal daily routine.

Steve Brown, Director of Public Health and Communities, said: “Children’s oral health is one of our priorities. Almost a fifth of all of five-year-olds in Devon experience some form of tooth decay, which is largely preventable.

“Tooth decay is the most common reason for hospital admissions among children aged five to nine and children with dental problems may have poorer diets due to dental pain, have higher levels of school absenteeism as well as impaired concentration due to pain and disrupted sleep.

“We know that supervised toothbrushing is an effective evidence-based response to the alarming deterioration in local children’s oral health and will lead to measurable improvements to the oral health of children in Devon.”

Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet member for Public Health, Communities and Equality, said: “I am pleased that in partnership with NHS Devon, Torbay and Plymouth City Council that Devon is the first region in the South West to roll out this vital initiative to all to school based Early Years settings.

“This initiative will not only benefit the individual child but will have a positive impact on their siblings and wider family, embedding good oral health practices in their routines now and for life.”

Jonathan Bouwer-Davies, Clinical Dental Adviser for NHS Devon said: “I am proud that Devon is the first area in the South West to extend the scheme to all primary schools thanks to the collaboration between NHS Devon, Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council.”