SCOTS CHILDREN are to have fluoride varnish

Cailan Duane (3) with deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald at the launch.

Scheme to cut dental decay

By Claire Warrender
SCOTS CHILDREN are to have fluoride varnish applied to their teeth in a bid to eliminate dental decay and disease.
Dental nurses will brush on the varnish every six months as part of a groundbreaking initiative called Childsmile.
Aimed at nursery school children in the more deprived areas of eastern Scotland, it is part of a wider package of preventive care offered to youngsters.
Funded by the Scottish Executive, the project has been developed in Fife by dental health expert Dr Graham Ball.
He said half of all children currently suffer from dental decay, which he declared one of the last preventable diseases left to tackle.
A pilot has been running in Fife for some months, but the project was officially launched yesterday by deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald at Inzievar Primary in Oakley.Childsmile will now be rolled out to Tayside, Forth Valley, Lothian and the Borders, as well as Ayrshire and Arran in the west of the country.
Specially trained dental nurses will go into the selected nurseries where, with parents’ permission, children between the ages of three and five will be treated in a non-threatening environment.
The youngsters will be seated on a beanbag while the nurse uses a brush to apply the coating, a process which will take a matter of seconds. The flouride varnish is a golden gel with a pleasant, fruity taste that sets quickly when it is applied and protects the teeth from decay. The golden colour wears off after a few days.
Dr Ball described the initiative as a low tech but effective way to eliminate tooth decay in young people and said research from around the world had shown it worked when used alongside regular toothbrushing and a low sugar diet.
Childsmile will run along with a separate project in the west of Scotland aimed at babies.
Speaking from his base at Cameron Hospital in Windygates, Dr Ball said Childsmile should help reduce inequalities in dental health.
The initiative relies on identifying at risk children in an educational setting and has nothing directly to do with the NHS.
“The advantage for us is that’s where all the children go,” said Dr Ball.
He said Oakley was chosen for the official launch as it is one of the key nurseries targeted in the programme.
“The first thing we have to make sure of is the children are in a regular toothbrushing programme. There was an announcement made in the Executive’s dental action plan that every child would be able to participate in supervised toothbrushing at nursery and we’re just about getting towards that target.”
The programme will develop as the children involved get older, and as they progress through primary school other measures such as fissure sealants may be introduced.
At all stages in the programme, children who need further assessment and possible dental care will be referred to a dentist.
“It’s quite a big thing and it’s been quite challenging to work out, but we have a project that I think is viable,” said Dr Ball.
“Although oral health in Scotland is worse than in England on the whole, this programme and other Childsmile work going on is really groundbreaking and gives us a lot to be proud of.”
Mr Macdonald said, “We have already made significant improvements in children’s oral health and last month, figures from the National Dental Inspection Programme showed that primary one children in Scotland now have the best oral health ever recorded, with 54% showing no signs of tooth decay.”
The scheme will be evaluated over three years with a view to introducing it across the rest of the country. Dental hygienists carry out the treatment, but soon dental nurses will join them.
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