The oral health of children has always been massively important. It is well understood that a regular teeth-cleaning routine is essential for keeping children’s teeth decay-free. Despite this, the overall dental health picture for UK children has been causing alarm for some time and the lack of available dental appointments across the country has worsened the situation. Promoting the benefits of good oral health to children and their parents/carers is therefore more crucial than ever, as is being able to provide patients with age-appropriate children’s brushes to take home.

What Impact Did COVID Have On Children's Oral Health?

In 2022, digital data from the NHS revealed that only one in seven under-fives saw a dentist in 2020 during the height of the pandemic, compared with one in three in 2019.

Though the number of children (5.6 million) who were seen in the 12 months up to June 2022 improved by 42.1% compared to the number of children (3.9 million) seen in the 12 months prior, this was still down over 20% from pre-pandemic levels when 70 million children were seen.

The impact from COVID has had an even greater impact on children from poorer families, worsening health inequalities in the process according to the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS).

It can be surprising how much of a lasting impact the approach of a dentist can have on a child. If you make oral health fun, educational and less scary in the practice, there’s a stronger possibility that this will continue on into the home.

It’s not just your words that can positively influence children’s oral health, but products too. Making sure you’ve got suitable, child-friendly brushes on hand in your practice to offer patients can be just as important.