Department of Health and Social Care written question – answered on 14th

Steve McCabeSteve McCabe Labour, Birmingham, Selly Oak
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of the 27 April 2018 to Question 137414, what information his Department holds on preventative dental health programmes delivered at local authority level.



 Steve BrineSteve Brine
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health and Social Care

In May 2018, Public Health England (PHE) published a stocktake which reported on oral health improvement programmes, commissioned by local authorities targeting zero to five years old in England.


Of the 95% of local authorities who responded, the majority (77%) are commissioning oral health improvement programmes for zero to five year olds.

The most commonly commissioned programmes are as follows: training for the wider professional workforce (71%); healthy food and drink policies (57%); supervised tooth brushing in early years and school settings (51%); targeted provision of toothbrushes and toothpaste (46%); integration of oral health into targeted home visits by health and social care workers (44%); local or national government policies used to improve oral health (30%); community fluoridevarnish programmes (24%); community water fluoridation (14%) and peer support workers supporting oral health improvement (5%). Further information is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/at
tachment_data/file/707180/Oral_health_improvement_programmes_commissio
ned_by_local_authorities.pdf

The Department does not hold information on oral health improvement programmes targeting any other age groups.