Parliament

Tracy Brabin Shadow Minister (Education)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has made an assessment of the potential benefits to the oral health of children in England of replicating the Scottish Government's Childsmile programme.

Steve Brine The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

The Scottish approach is centralised and could not be replicated directly in England as local authorities (LAs) are responsible for assessing the oral health needs of their local population, commissioning oral health improvement programmes and are not under central control.

Many LAs have had programmes in place that contain elements similar to those within the Scottish Child Smile programme, for example tooth brushing programmes and community fluoride varnish schemes.

Public Health England has published a number of resources and is working locally with LAs to support LAs in improving child oral health.

NHS England has recently launched the Starting Well programme, which will work in 13 areas in England with the worst oral health to reach out to families with children under five who are most at risk of dental disease, who may not currently be visiting a dentist. Dental practices are currently in the process of applying to join the programme.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/primary-care/dental/starting-well/