The Childsmile daily supervised Toothbrushing Programme is delivered with both a universal (nurseries) and targeted (primary schools) approach.
Some two-year-old children (about 25%), whose families are in receipt of certain benefits, have free places at nursery, and every three and four-year-old child attending nursery (whether local authority, voluntary or partner provider) is offered free, daily, supervised toothbrushing within their nursery establishment.
The programme is also offered to at least 20% of Primary 1 and 2 classes of schools situated in areas with the highest level of need within NHS Boards across the country. Childsmile uses the definition from the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) to determine ‘level of need’.
The professional standards of care which apply to the Toothbrushing Programme are outlined in the National Standards for Nursery and School Toothbrushing Programmes standards document.
The Toothbrushing Programme may be introduced to a nursery or school following a request from the school, or as a result of contact from the dental team. A member of the Childsmile team should meet with the Head Teacher to discuss what is expected and what resources will be involved.