A new national campaign has been launched to encourage families to establish regular toothbrushing routines and improve children’s oral health.
The ‘Brush With Us’ initiative, launched by Colgate-Palmolive in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care, aims to help parents and carers make brushing twice a day for two minutes part of everyday family life.
The campaign, which features fitness coach Joe Wicks, forms part of Colgate-Palmolive’s collaboration with the government to support the national supervised toothbrushing programme, which targets young children in areas with the greatest oral health need.
The company has committed to donating more than 23 million toothbrushes and toothpastes over five years for the programme, with six million products delivered so far alongside educational resources.
The latest campaign aims to reinforce children’s toothbrushing habits at home, building on education in nurseries, early years settings and primary schools, with Mr Wicks promoting oral health alongside healthy eating and physical activity.
British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) president Dr Rachael Nichol welcomed the initiative.
She said: ‘Helping children to brush twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste is one of the simplest and most effective ways to protect their teeth.
‘This landmark national campaign has the potential to take that positive message into millions of homes and give children’s oral health the national visibility it has long deserved.’
However, the BSPD stressed that sustained action on prevention must sit alongside fundamental reform of the dental contract for children and young people.
Dr Nichol added: ‘This important campaign should be part of a wider, sustained commitment to prevention: reaching children and communities with the greatest need, giving every child a dental home and ensuring timely access to appropriate dental care.
‘Every child deserves the best possible start in life.’
The Association of Dental Groups (ADG) also voiced its approval of the initiative, with executive chair Neil Carmichael calling the decision to involve Mr Wicks ‘a smart idea’.
He said: ‘Initiatives such as “Brush with Us” are all steps to ensuring children get the help needed to adopt positive habits that prevent tooth decay.
‘Oral health is fundamental to overall health and Joe Wicks MBE is the perfect ambassador to bring this message to life.’
Mr Carmichael added: ‘The supervised toothbrushing programme launched last year was a good start, and now with a commitment from the government to address the workforce issues with increased numbers of international dentists qualifying through the overseas registration examination and additional places at dental schools opening up, we hope to see children’s oral health turn a corner.’