Brush Bus Dental Programme a Success in Hull
A school dental programme in Hull has reduced the number of children that require dental treatment, it has been revealed.
The Brush Bus programme, which was introduced to encourage children to take good care of their teeth and gums, was launched in 2006 and has since made a huge difference to standards of oral health among children in the area.
The programme has been managed by 543 Dental Centre in Anlaby Road. Since 2006 dentists have seen hundreds of children for routine checks and set up a pilot programme in twelve schools in the area.
The first school to join the programme was Francis Askew Primary School, on North Road and the improvement has been significant. Recently, figures revealed that 33 percent of children required treatment in March this year, compared to 41 percent of children last April.
Chris Groombridge, managing director of 543 Dental Centre, said that it was clear to see that the pilot study had been a success so far. The Brush Bus scheme was launched by City Health Care Partnership and involves children keeping toothbrushes in school in a bus-shaped container. The children are supervised while brushing their teeth and taught about the importance of oral hygiene. Mr Groombridge said that for many children, brushing at school was the only form of oral hygiene they were practising, with many admitting that they hardly even brush their teeth at home.
The findings of the pilot programme come in tandem with the launch of National Smile Month, a national campaign run by the British Dental Health Foundation, which aims to promote oral hygiene and greater awareness of oral health issues.
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