You may find it shocking to discover that dental decay is the single most common reason to admit children to hospital in Scotland – and yet it is almost totally preventable. It’s so important to keep teeth healthy right from the beginning of a child’s life - to avoid pain, infection and the need to take teeth out under general anaesthetic.
Childminders are ideally placed to use opportunities throughout the day to help establish good tooth brushing routines with their minded children and can also play a crucial role in developing a child’s knowledge and attitude to healthy eating and how it affects oral health.
Childminders often devise fun and inventive ways to explore different foods and healthy snacks because they know it is so important to consider how the food and drinks provided to children can affect their teeth - and how developing a varied, tasty and enjoyable diet as a child supports lifelong healthy eating habits.
SCMA – Happy Teeth in collaboration with NHS Child Smile
SCMA has secured funding to work in collaboration with the
NHS Child Smile Programme, providing training and support to childminders across Scotland to encourage and implement supervised tooth-brushing within their settings and, in turn, to help promote the continuation of good oral health within the child’s own home.
The three-year project is funded by the Scottish Government’s Oral Health Community Challenge Fund with the aim of improving infant oral health, increasing opportunities for the improvement of oral health and overall wellbeing.
The project also enables SCMA to continue important work in the community - especially crucial in areas of need - and helps us to highlight the invaluable role that childminders play in supporting children and families.
How can childminders support ‘Happy Teeth’?
Childminders are ideally placed in a home-from-home environment to encourage children of all ages to take a keen interest in their oral health. Providing a relaxed, fun and friendly environment to help boost children’s understanding of the importance of good oral health, they can help children and families forge a routine and a keen interest in looking after their teeth.
Working directly with children in a home-setting helps to establish and continue routines for children such as getting ready in the morning, getting ready for bedtime and toilet training – brushing teeth is also an important part of this daily routine and childminders play a vital role in helping to establish and reinforce this healthy habit. They also have an important role within the local community, often having expert local knowledge, and so are ideally placed to signpost parents and support them to access other support services.
Our ambitious Happy Teeth targets – helped along by SCMA Network Meetings
The Happy Teeth project sets us some ambitious targets! We aim to reach more than 1000 childminders and help support over 1500 children and families over the next three years, to help establish and reinforce tooth brushing techniques with a childminder’s minded children, and raise parents’ awareness of the impact of diet on their children’s teeth.
We have set up a number of Happy Teeth Network Meetings to help support childminders with practical tips and advice, including ways to start conversations, for example, by asking parents if their family is registered with a dentist and if not, how to provide help and support in encouraging families to engage with community dental services, and even with help registering with a dentist.
A number of meetings have already been held in Glasgow, Fife and the Scottish Borders with more planned for Falkirk, Stirling, West Lothian and Aberdeen.
New resource coming soon for SCMA members! Happy Teeth Activity Pack
SCMA’s spring issue of
Childminding magazine will contain a brand new resource for SCMA members – a Happy Teeth Activity Pack. This will be full of practical, fun ideas for activities for fostering healthy tooth brushing routines with your minded children – in the meantime, here are some top tips for children’s ‘Happy Teeth’.
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Reduce consumption and frequency of food and drinks containing sugar
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Brush teeth and gums at least twice a day - in the morning and last thing at night!
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Use toothpaste containing at least 1000 ppm (parts per million) fluoride
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Spit, don’t rinse – this gives fluoride time to work!
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Visit the dentist regularly
Find out where your nearest Happy Teeth Network Meeting is - and don’t forget to share what you are doing with your minded children to support Happy Teeth by posting on social media and tag @ScotChildmind on
Facebook and
Twitter, and use #HappyTeeth.