Children who have toothache or who need treatment may have pain, infections, and difficulties with eating, sleeping and socialising. They may have to be absent from school and parents may also have to take time off work to take their children to a dentist or to hospital.
Oral health is, therefore, an important aspect of a child’s overall health status and to children’s school readiness, and is seen as a marker of wider health and social care issues including poor nutrition and obesity.
Children enjoy learning about looking after their teeth and this can be linked to the National Curriculum.
There are plenty of resources available for school staff to promote and achieve better oral health in their pupils.
