We have put together some oral health resources for professionals and for parents and carers. There are many organisations offering information online, this is a selection that we have found useful.
For professionals
Delivering Better Oral Health is an evidenced based toolkit for dental professionals on oral health and they have produced two summary documents. One is for adults and one is for children, which would be useful for patients, professionals and parents. They discuss the three main oral health messages – brushing, diet and visiting the dentist.
The following NHS/Health Education England links take you to two very good child oral health e-learning. The first link is to a module aimed at both health and care professionals and parents. The second link is aimed at health and care professionals rather than parents – it’s a bite-sized session to give professionals an overview of child oral health - including key evidence, data and signposting to trusted resources to help prevent illness, protect health and promote wellbeing.
- Child oral health e-learning training programme for staff and parents
- Health and care professionals training programme
The Change for Life website provides lots of healthy eating advice including sugar swap ideas and PowerPoint presentations for lesson plans for KS1 and KS2.
For schools
The following school based oral health programmes may also be useful:
- e-bug - prevention of infection: oral hygiene. Key stage 1 and key stage 2
- Change4Life - dental lesson plans for schools for lower and upper primary school pupils. The teaching resources are all free to download from the School Zone.
For parents
TV doctor and Strictly Come Dancing star Dr Ranj is working to get UK kids brushing their teeth – strictly correctly!
YouTube playlist of all three videos
YouTube individual videos:
A short video that can be found on YouTube about looking after children’s teeth, featuring one of our dental therapists.
The early years charity Henry also has a useful video on children’s oral health and the importance of brushing.
The NHS/Health Education England child oral health e-learning training programme for both staff and parents.
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry has a new initiative ‘Dental Check by 1’ to encourage parents to take their children to a local NHS dentist by the time their child is one - so dentists now see young children and can use this opportunity to reinforce oral hygiene and diet recommendations.
Brush DJ - a free, multi-award winning app suitable for all ages to help improve oral hygiene.
Foodscanner - this app brings food labels to life and helps you make healthier choices.
For parents of children with special needs
A very useful booklet produced by Manchester Primary Care Trust “The Good Teeth Guide for Parents and Carers of Children with Extra Needs”.
This group of special care dentists have created some supportive videos for children with additional needs to aid them and their carers with toothbrushing.
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry also offers other resources such as information for parents of autistic children.
For carers of adults with special needs
For adults in hospitals, care homes etc, we would suggest the Mouth Care Matters website: mouthcarematters.hee.nhs.uk alongside our video which helps carers support vulnerable adults with brushing.
For adults with additional needs, the organisation below offers further guidance: bsdh.org/index.php/oral-health-resources
Finding a dentist
Local NHS dentists can be found on the NHS website.
We offer a referral only dental care service for adults or children who would not be able to accept dental care from a high street NHS dentist. Parents cannot self-refer unless their child attends a special needs school. For all other referrals, any health, educational, or social services professional can make the referral. Please be advised that a referral may not be accepted if the patient is assessed as being able to obtain dental care from a high street NHS dentist. Normal NHS fees and exemptions apply.
To refer into the Kent Paediatric and Adult Special Dental Care Service
Please contact us if you have any further questions kentchft.oralhealthkent@nhs.net.
To refer into the North East London Paediatric and Adult Special Dental Care Service
- Adult (over 16-years-old) special care
- Children/paediatric referral form (for those children with special needs or who are considered vulnerable - all other children need to be referred by their own high street dentist).
Please contact us if you have any further questions kentchft.dentaloutreachlondon@nhs.net.