Oldham Council Launches New Dental Campaign to Target Tooth Decay in Children
Oldham Council has launched a brand new dental health campaign to try and reduce rates of tooth decay in children. The Big Brush campaign launched this week with the aim of tackling one of the region’s prime health issues, dental decay.
The campaign is designed to encourage good oral hygiene habits in very young children. Surveys show that Oldham is one of the worst-affected areas in terms childhood decay rates and the aim of the programme is to get children brushing from an early age in a bid to prevent many cases of decay. Cavities are preventable, yet thousands of children end up in hospital every year across the UK as a result of extensive decay, which requires treatment under general anaesthetic.
As part of the programme, schools and children’s centres in the town will be participating in brushing activities and a mobile dental unit will be visiting the town centre on Friday 20th November.
Cabinet member for health and wellbeing, Councillor Jean Stretton, said that the figures related to childhood decay are alarming and it’s extremely important for the council to work with local dentists, education providers and parents to try and tackle this issue and improve standards of oral health going forward. Parents have a very important role to play in educating young children and supervising children when they brush their teeth and the council is encouraging as many families as possible to get involved with the Big Brush.
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